Bali tourists urged to avoid exclusion zones

VOLCANO: Holidaymakers stranded as flights cancelled

UK tourists stranded in Bali are being advised to avoid exclusion zones after an erupting volcano caused the island’s international airport to close.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also urged holidaymakers to contact their travel company and monitor local media reports in an update to its travel advice.

Indonesian authorities have issued the most serious level of alert for Mount Agung, which has been hurling clouds of ash into the atmosphere since the weekend.

They reported that the volcano’s explosions are being heard more than seven miles (11km) away, and a larger eruption is possible.

An exclusion zone has been created about six miles (10km) from the crater.

Ash led to the island’s Ngurah Rai Airport being closed yesterday until at least 7am local time today, causing the cancellation of 445 flights.

Around 330,000 British nationals visit Indonesia every year, with many heading to Bali for its beaches, green landscape and Hindu culture.

Sarah Murphy, 40, and her friend Tina Lucke, 31, both from Brighton, East Sussex, were due to fly home from the island yesterday but their Emirates flight was cancelled and they do not know when they will be able to leave.

Ms Murphy, a Youth Hostel Association manager, told the Press Association: “The volcano is amazing to see.

“There is not much we can do about it so I guess we just need to keep hoping they open the airport. I’m not worried about my safety at all at the moment as no one else seems to be that worried.”

There is not much we can do about it so I guess we just need to keep hoping they open the airport

Picture: AP. Visitors at a temple in Karangasem, Indonesia, watch the volcano erupting.