Volcano eruption in Indonesia forces airport to close
Print Edition
Indonesia temporarily closed a domestic airport yesterday after a volcano in the country’s east erupted, spewing plumes of ash hundreds of meters into the air.
The volcano, Mount Gamalama — which forms the entire island of Ternate in North Maluku province — erupted late Thursday, officials said.
While no one in the area has been told to evacuate, an airport in Ternate town at the mountain’s foot was closed, the transport ministry said.
“We closed the Sultan Baabulah airport this morning as the volcanic ash may pose a risk to planes,” said a ministry spokesman, adding that the airfield was covered with thick ash.
The airport could reopen today if there are no further eruptions, Barata said.
Darno Lamane, an official at the volcano monitoring post, said the 1,715-meter volcano continued to spew ash in plumes of up to 600 meters yesterday.
A local disaster management agency official said that 11 hikers who had been at the volcano when it erupted managed to escape, but some were injured as they clambered down.
“Three of them have been hospitalized for broken bones,” the official said.
Indonesia has 129 active volcanoes, including 21 on Java.
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