On alert for further Mt Ruang eruptions as evacuations continue, airport closed

Mount Ruang releasing hot lava and smoke in Sangihe Islands as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi on April 17, 2024. - AFP

JAKARTA: Indonesia shut a provincial airport and evacuated hundreds of people from the vicinity of the Ruang volcano after it belched explosive plumes of lava, rocks and ash for days, officials said on Thursday (April 18), declaring the highest alert on the situation.

Wednesday's dramatic eruption of the volcano on a remote island in the province of North Sulawesi threw a fiery-red column of lava, incandescent rock and ash as much as three km (two miles) into the sky.