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A volcano has erupted four times on the same Indonesian island already devastated by an earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 1,400 people.

Sulawesi's latest disaster happened as search teams continue to recover bodies from buildings flattened by Friday's 7.5-magnitude quake and tsunami waves up to 20ft high.

Two volcanic earthquakes were detected as Mount Soputan spewed a massive column of hot ash and smoke more than two miles into the air during Wednesday's eruptions.

Villagers wore masks and hid under umbrellas as volcanic ash rained down on them and blocked out the sun.

(Image: REUTERS)

Officials had not ruled out the possibility that the eruptions were triggered by last week's major quake, which has left now homeless survivors facing a desperate situation.

People living within a 2.5-mile radius of the volcano were told to flee amid fears that villages could be hit by lava and falling ash.

The threat level was raised to "standby", meaning people living close to the volcano should move to safety and carry masks with them in case of falling ash.

(Image: REX/Shutterstock) (Image: REX/Shutterstock) (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Residents were also warned of post-eruption lava flows which can be carried away by rivers.

Climbing routes were closed and police were tracing the whereabouts of people who were on the volcano before it erupted.

Planes were instructed to avoid the airspace around the volcano.

Asep Saifullah, head of the observation post in Silian, told local media that the volcano had erupted four times by lunchtime on Wednesday.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

The first happened at 8.47am local time, following by a second eruption at 10.44am.

The third and fourth eruptions occurred at 11.12am and 11.52am.

Volcanic activity had been steadily increasing for weeks before the eruptions.

With a summit of just over 5,850ft, Mount Soputan is on the north-eastern arm of Sulawesi, about 400 miles from the coastal city of Palu, one of the main areas devastated by last week's double disaster

(Image: AFP)

This is the fifth eruption this decade, with the most recent ones happening in January 2015 and January 2016.

Wednesday's eruptions came as hopes of finding people alive in rubble started to fade five days on from the earthquake and tsunami.

Quake and tsunami death toll soars

Time is running out for anyone trapped under collapsed buildings, with the death toll soaring in the last few days and survivors desperate for food and other supplies.

Aid workers warned of increasing desperation in hard-hit outlying areas that have yet to get any help at all.

Britain is sending a military plane with emergency aid to help the survivors.

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(Image: Getty)

Hotels, shopping malls and thousands of houses in Palu collapsed when the quake hit on Friday evening.

Coastal areas were then devastated by tsunami waves as high as 20ft.

About 1,700 houses in one neighbourhood alone were swallowed up by ground liquefaction, which happens when soil shaken by an earthquake behaves like a liquid, and hundreds of people are believed to have perished, Reuters reports.

More than 70,000 people have been displaced.

President Joko Widodo made a second visit to Sulawesi on Wednesday, promising survivors that relief efforts - including the distribution of food, tents and other supplies, and the restoration of electricity - were being ramped up.

Officials fear the toll could soar again as most of the confirmed dead have come from Palu.

(Image: REUTERS)

Losses in remote areas that have been cut off by damaged roads, landslides or fallen bridges have not been determined.

Search and rescue teams have been working around the clock to look for survivors still trapped in rubble and recover bodies.

The dead have been dumped in mass graves to prevent the outbreak of disease.

Aid worker Lian Gogali told Reuters the situation in badly hit Donggala district was very difficult, adding: "Everyone is desperate for food and water. There's no food, water, or gasoline. The government is missing."

Police have done little to stop outbreaks of looting.

Indonesia has dozens of active volcanoes, including Krakatoa, or Krakatau, which was spewing lava and ash off the island of Java on Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian country sits on the horseshoe-shaped Pacific Ring of Fire, where almost all of the world's largest earthquakes occur.

It has seen a number of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in recent years.

In 2004, a major quake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean, killing 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

In August, a series of major quakes killed over 500 people in the tourist island of Lombok and destroyed dozens of villages along its northern coast.