Mount Barujari erupted suddenly on Lombok Island in Indonesia and authorities said they had evacuated most tourists after a massive column of ash spewed into the atmosphere. About 50 people left behind were still heading down the mountain on Wednesday.
The volcano, a popular attraction that is known as the Child of Rinjani because it sits within the Mount Rinjani caldera, erupted without warning on Tuesday afternoon, delaying flights from the international airport on nearby Bali, reported The Associated Press. The ash column reached 6,560 feet.
Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said more than 1,100 tourists left the Mount Rinjani area on Tuesday. A similar number left Wednesday.
There have been no reports of injuries from the eruption.
Nugroho said government scientists have declared a danger zone of 1.6 miles around the crater and raised the volcano's alert to the third highest level, but some tourists did not immediately heed warnings to leave because they wanted to take photos or videos of the eruption.
The eruption interrupted flights for several hours at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, airport officials said.
Farms and trees around the 12,224-foot-high volcano were coated in a thin layer of gray ash, but nearby towns and villages were not in danger, Nugroho said.
Rinjani is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelago is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire."
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