NTB Volcano Erupts, Flights Delayed but No Deaths Reported

Jakarta Globe, Fitri Pikong, May 31, 2014

The Mount Sangeang eruption as seen from neighboring
East Nusa Tenggara province. (JG Photo/Pingkan Irwin)

Jakarta. Mount Sangeang in West Nusa Tenggara’s Bima district erupted at 3 p.m. local time on Friday, spewing ash 3,000 meters into the air, reaching the city of Bima, some 70 kilometers away.

“The BPBD [Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency] has evacuated more than 1,000 people from farms near the Mount Sangiang area,” West Nusa Tenggara disaster mitigation head Weda Mahma Ardi said.

The agency instructed local residents not to go within 1.5 kilometers of the eruption site.

Eighteen people were treated for minor injuries after the eruption, Weda said.

“They will soon be evacuated to their relatives’ houses in Sangeang Darat,” Wera subdistrict head Julfan Akbar said, as quoted by Indonesia news portalTempo.co.

No deaths have been reported.

“Up until now, there have not been reports of [serious] casualties,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency head Sutopo said.

The volcano last erupted in 1999, according to BNPB data.

Qantas and Virgin Australia canceled flights to Darwin, Australia after the eruption.

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The giant UFO hovers over the dark cloud plume from the volcano 
on Sangeang Api, Indonesia on May 31, 2014