Indonesia evacuates tourists after Mount Barujari eruption
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities say they have evacuated most tourists from Mount Barujari on Lombok island after it spewed a massive column of ash into the atmosphere.
The volcano, a popular attraction that is known as the Child of Rinjani because it sits within the Mount Rinjani caldera, erupted without warning on Tuesday afternoon, delaying flights from the international airport on nearby Bali. The ash column reached 2,000 metres (6,560 feet).
Heronimus Guru, deputy operations chief at Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency, said Wednesday that the remaining tourists, about 50 people who are mostly foreigners, were heading down the mountain.
Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said more than 1,100 tourists left the Mount Rinjani area on Tuesday. A similar number left Wednesday.