"The Merapi death toll has reached 322 people. More than 130,000 people are still living in temporary shelters," disaster management official Agam Ferdatama said, updating the previous toll of 309 dead.

"Rescuers found many bodies in the incinerated area of Cangkringan," he said.

The government reduced the exclusion zone on Friday for the second time in a week because of the volcano's declining volatility, allowing more refugees to return to their homes.

Ferdatama said they had updated the number of refugees from more than 200,000 people.

Merapi killed around 1,300 people in 1930 but experts say November has seen its biggest convulsions since 1872.

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