Volcano erupts on Indonesia's Bali causing flight cancellations
A
volcano erupted on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, causing some
overnight flight cancellations to and from Australia as an ash cloud rose into
the sky, officials said on Saturday.
Mount Agung volcano spewed out lava and
showers of rocks over a distance of about 3 km (2 miles), with ash falling over
dozens of villages, officials said. There were no reports of casualties.
Flights, run by Qantas Airways, JetStar and
Virgin Airlines, were operating normally on Saturday.
Authorities had 50,000 masks available as a
precaution though the alert level on the volcano remained unchanged and there
had been no evacuations.
Photographs of Agung overnight showed an ash
column and glowing lava in the crater of the volcano, which rises majestically
over eastern Bali at a height of just over 3,000 meters.
In late 2017, authorities raised the alert
level on Agung after a spike in activity, triggering evacuations and travel
chaos at the time. The alert level has since been lowered but the rumbling
Agung has erupted intermittently since then occasionally disrupting flights.
A major eruption in 1963 killed more than
1,000 people and razed several villages
Bali, famous for its surf, beaches and
temples, attracts around 5 million visitors a year.