The intense activity of Mount Rinjani leaves regional atmosphere unfit for flight. Runways blocked until Friday, 700 flights already canceled. Hundreds of tourists stranded on the ground along with India’s vice-President, who was departing at the end of his holidays.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - For a second day in a row, Indonesian authorities have decided to close the Bali International Airport because of the eruption of a nearby volcano.

Jakarta has decided not to allow flights until Friday: so far almost 700 have been canceled, in what is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the country. The volcano in question is Mount Rinjani, located on the island of Lombok, a few kilometers from Bali. On Tuesday, the volcano began to expel thick clouds of smoke, which made flying at low and medium altitudes impractical.

Trikora Harjo, director of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, said of the canceled flights 320 were international, thus hundreds of tourists are stranded on the island. They include Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India, who was on a state visit Wednesday and was about to leave for vacation. The extradition to India of a man accused of 20 murders, arrested in Bali last week, has also been delayed.

It is not the first time that the area suffers from intense volcanic activity. Last July, the eruption of Mount Raung (East Java) had forced the closure of several airports, including the one in Bali.

The Indonesian archipelago is made up of thousands of islands and atolls surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, in an area known by scientists as the "Ring of Fire". It is characterized by intense volcanic and seismic activity, caused by the collision of several continental plates. Memories of the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the region in December 2004 are still alive in peoples minds, with an epicenter off the coast of Aceh, causing hundreds of thousands of victims throughout Asia.

 

• INDONESIA
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• bali
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