Human cargo haul
45, whose family fled the area close to the volcano after being jolted by quakes.
Resident Jeremiah Osuna’s drone captured footage of a “fire curtain” of lava flow that left him feeling “shock and awe.”
“It was like if you put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turned it on — a lot of earth and pressure and fire just moving around,” he said.
As well as quake aftershocks, officials warned of the dangers of spattering hot rock and high levels of sulphuric gas that could threaten the elderly and people with breathing problems. MALAYSIAN police have intercepted a tanker with 131 Sri Lankans believed bound for Australia and New Zealand, smashing a large human smuggling ring that has been operating for a year.
Police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun revealed at the weekend that the modified tanker, named Etra, was halted off the coast of the southern Johor state on Tuesday.
“With these arrests, the Royal Malaysia Police has suc- cessfully foiled a large and cunning human smuggling syndicate,” he said.
Mr Harun said the immigrants included 98 men, 24 women, four boys and five girls.
Police also raided a fishing boat used to transport the migrants to the vessel and detained three Indonesians and four Malaysians on board, Mr Harun said.
Another five Malaysians were nabbed for suspected in- volvement in the smuggling. syndicate
“This syndicate has been operating since mid-2017 and has international connections across Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia,” Mr Harun said.
A total of 127 Sri Lankans would be charged with entering Malaysia illegally, while nine Malaysians, four Indonesians and four Sri Lankans would be investigated for human smuggling, he said.