Indonesian ‘Ring of Fire’ volcano erupts AGAIN forcing thousands to flee their homes & closing international airport
A REMOTE volcano in Indonesia has erupted again, sending a tower of ash more than five kilometres into the sky.
Thousands were evacuated and an international airport was closed after Mount Ruang erupted several times on Tuesday.
The 725-metre-tall volcano had already erupted more than half a dozen times this month, forcing more than 6,000 people to flee their homes.
On Tuesday, the alert level was raised to its highest, the country’s volcanology agency said.
Ruang, located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province, erupted about 1.15am local time and twice more on Tuesday morning.
A six-kilometre exclusion zone was established as locals were urged to stay vigilant about “the potential for ejections of incandescent rocks, hot clouds and tsunamis due to eruption material entering the sea”.
Dramatic photos and video showed a molten red stream burst into the sky as a large ash cloud spilled from the crater.
Burning embers are understood to have hit local houses.
More than 800 people live on the island of Ruang, most of whom were evacuated following the recent eruptions.
Some of the evacuated residents had returned to their homes after the previous emergency response status ended on Monday, reports an AFP journalist.
It is not yet clear how many residents had returned to their homes and how many evacuated once again.
Sam Ratulangi international airport in the provincial capital of Manado, more than 100 kilometres from the volcano, was forced to close again following the latest eruption.
A notice from state-run air traffic control provider AirNav Indonesia said the airport was shutting down due to “Ruang volcanic ash”.
Indonesia is prone to experience frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
Mount Ruang erupted five times earlier this month, sparking a tsunami warning and a mass evacuation of more than 11,000 people.
Footage from the time showed the volcano spewing flames and red smoke into the sky which was racked by lightning storms.
There were fears that part of the volcano could collapses and spark a tsunami, as happened in 1871.
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