DENPASAR, Indonesia: Thousands of residents were evacuated from villages near an active volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali, officials said on Friday, as seismic tremors rattled some areas and smoke rose above one of the world’s most popular tourist spots.
The alert status for Mount Agung in eastern Bali was at 3, one level below the highest, and authorities warned tourists and residents to avoid camping or hiking within a 6-kilometer radius of the crater.
“Volcanic activity remains high and there are indications of magma rising to the surface and causing tremors,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the National Disaster Management Agency.
“There should be zero public activity within the specified radius in case there is an eruption,” Nugroho said.
However, flights at Bali’s international airport were operating as normal and there was little disruption to tourism operators across the rest of the island, authorities said.
Nearly 6,000 people have been evacuated so far and that number was expected to rise, officials said.
Some residents in villages at the foot of Mount Agung said they were reluctant to leave immediately. Others gathered to watch the volcano.
“I’m here with my husband. We need to feed the animals so that’s what we’re doing first,” villager Wayan Suarda told national television station tvOne.
Others packed their belongings into trucks for evacuation, while more stopped to watch as clouds of white smoke rose from the crater, which is around 3,000 meters above sea level.
Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, where several tectonic plates meet and cause 90 percent of the world’s seismic activity, according to the US Geological Survey.
Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
A series of eruptions at Mount Agung between 1963 and 1964 killed more than 1,000 people and injured hundreds.
Thousands evacuated as volcano rumbles on Indonesian holiday spot Bali
Thousands evacuated as volcano rumbles on Indonesian holiday spot Bali
Russia says two crew members from US-seized tanker released
- “Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” Zakharova said
- Russia announced earlier this month that the US had decided to release the Russian duo
MOSCOW: Moscow said Wednesday two Russian crew members of a tanker seized this month by the United States in the Atlantic had been released and were on their way home.
US authorities took over the Russian-flagged vessel earlier this month, alleging it was part of a shadow fleet carrying oil from countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
The United States said publicly that the Marinera’s crew could be prosecuted. Russia said that would be “categorically unacceptable” and accused Washington of stoking tensions and threatening international shipping.
“Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.
Russia announced earlier this month that the United States had decided to release the two Russian crew members, but last week its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the decision had not yet been implemented.
The captain and the first officer of the tanker have left UK waters, Solicitor General for Scotland, Ruth Charteris told a court hearing Tuesday, Press Association news agency reported.
“The captain and the first officer are now aboard the US Coast Guard vessel Munro and have departed the United Kingdom’s territorial sea,” Charteris said.
Twenty-six of the 28 crew have left the ship, officials told AFP. They were processed at a military site in Inverness, Scotland, the court was told, according to Press Association.
Five wanted to travel to the United States and 21 elsewhere. None have claimed asylum, the court heard.
“At the request of the US authorities, crew members have been allowed to disembark for onwards travel,” a UK government spokesperson told AFP Wednesday.
“They will be processed in line with all appropriate immigration and legal requirements.”
Britain was not involved in the movement of the other two crew members, the government said.
The United States seized the tanker, previously known as Bella 1, which was being escorted by the Russian navy, after chasing it from near the Venezuelan coast.
It was re-flagged and re-named to bring it under Russian jurisdiction in a bid to discourage the United States from trying to take it as part of its campaign against Venezuela.
