Volcano eruption shuts Bali airport, stranding tens of thousands of tourists

VIDEO 27 November, 2017 11:17

DENPASAR, Indonesia — Indonesia raised its warning for Bali's Mount Agung volcano to the level-four top alert on Monday, closed the holiday island's airport and told nearby residents to evacuate immediately, warning that a larger eruption was imminent.

Bali's airport was closed for 24 hours, disrupting 445 flights and about 59,000 passengers.

TV video showed cold lava flows, called lahar, at a number of locations on the mountainside. Lahar carrying mud and large boulders can destroy houses, bridges and roads in its path.

"Plumes of smoke are occasionally accompanied by explosive eruptions and the sound of weak blasts that can be heard up to 12 km from the peak," the Disaster Mitigation Agency, known as BNPB, said in a statement.

"The potential for a larger eruption is imminent," it said, citing the glow of magma at Agung's summit overnight.

Residents were warned to "immediately evacuate" a danger zone that circles Agung in a radius of 5 to 6 miles.

Agung rises majestically over eastern Bali to a height of almost 10,000 feet. Its last eruption, in 1963, killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages.

"I'm not worried, but my friends in Russia are a little bit worried," a Russian tourist, who asked to be identified only as Dmitry, said at an observation post in Rendang in Bali's east.

Bali, famous for its surf, beaches and temples, attracted nearly 5 million visitors last year, and its international airport serves as a transportation hub for the chain of islands in Indonesia's eastern archipelago.

Tourism has slumped in Bali since September, when Agung's volcanic tremors began to increase.

Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport, which is 40 miles from the volcano, will be closed for 24 hours, according to a statement from its operator. It said 445 flights — 196 international and 249 domestic — and 59,000 passengers had been affected.

"It is a little bit frustrating because I checked the internet," said Jan Nicolai of Germany. "Everything was on schedule. Now I am standing here, everything was closed."

Television video showed hundreds of people camped inside the airport terminal, some sleeping on their bags, others using mobile phones.

"We have been here for three days. We are about to leave today but just found out our flights have been canceled," said Carlo Oben of Los Angeles. "We have got no information because the gates, the check-ins, have been closed indefinitely."