(Antara)
Manado, North Sulawesi – Thousands of passengers had to postpone their departures from Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Tagulandang, North Sulawesi.
Forty-seven flights had been canceled, said Maya Damayanti, General Manager of Sam Ratulangi Airport, on Friday.
A total of 47 flights and 6,165 passengers to Jakarta, Surabaya, Sorong, Balikpapan, and several international flights had to be postponed until the next day, she said.
Affected passengers were advised to contact their airlines regarding rescheduling or refunds.
The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) reported that the safe zone was within a radius of 6 kilometers from the center of the eruption.
Five eruptions were monitored during the last 24 hours, according to the PVMBG stated that during the last 24 hours.
The explosive eruption caused rumbling sounds, earthquakes, and flashes of volcanic lightning.
From April 1 to 17, the PVMBG recorded 1,439 deep volcanic earthquakes, 569 shallow volcanic earthquakes, six local tectonic earthquakes, and 167 distant tectonic earthquakes on Mount Ruang.
Thousands have been evacuated to safer places. (Antara)
