Thousands Stranded At Bali Airport Due To Volcano Eruption

Kuta (Antara Bali)- Thousands of passengers were stranded at Bali`s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Wednesday due to the eruption of Mount Barujari, a cone inside the larger volcanic caldera of Mount Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

"I do not know what I should do. The first thing I must contact my airline," Andrey Nepomiluev, a Russian who was also stranded at the airport, said.

Andrey planned to fly to Singapore where he would proceed to Petersburg.

"I have no idea how it is going to be handled next," he affirmed.

The transportation ministry has announced that the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali Province, is closed until Thursday (Nov. 5) at 8:45 a.m. local time due to the eruption of the volcano.

The authorities have issued a Notice to Airmen No. A2470/15 regarding the temporary closure, J.A. Barata, a spokesman of the transportation ministry, stated in Jakarta, Wednesday.

"The Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali and the Selaparang Airport (in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara) are being shut down until Thursday morning at 8 a.m. central Indonesian standard time, and the conditions will be evaluated again tomorrow morning," he affirmed.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that Mount Rinjani located in the East, Central, and North Lombok districts erupted again on Tuesday (Nov. 3).

The mount spewed volcanic ash reaching a height of around 3.5 thousand meters dpal, or one thousand meters above the crater of Barujari.

The ash has blanketed the Lombok strait, Bali Island, the Bali strait, and Banyuwangi, according to monitoring data of Terra satellite.

Seven villages in North Lombok District are affected by the volcanic ash.

The West Nusa Tenggara authorities have distributed some four thousand face masks to the local inhabitants.

The airport closure is based on the recommendation by the Darwin-based Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

The alert status of Mount Rinjani is currently at level II. (WDY)