JAKARTA—A volcano erupted near Indonesia’s third-biggest city of Bandung on Friday, July 26, sending ash several hundred meters into the air and triggering warnings for people to stay away.
Broadcasters showed footage of cars and motorbikes driving away from Tangkuban Parahu on roads covered by ash.
Second video shows eruption at volcano on Indonesia’s Java island: no immediate reports of casualties pic.twitter.com/4RUoj4szfd
— BNO News (@BNONews) July 26, 2019
The disaster mitigation agency said the tourism spot had been closed and the alert status of the volcano was being evaluated.
The local police chief said at least two people were taken to hospital suffering breathing difficulties, adding the evacuation was fast because fewer than 100 tourists were in the crater area, 9News reported.
#BREAKING: A volcano has erupted near Indonesia’s third-biggest city of Bandung. #9Newshttps://t.co/CiXlvR5Utp
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) July 26, 2019
In a dramatic video posted on Twitter by 9News, people can be seen running for their lives as ash from the exploding Mount Tangkuban Perahu blanketed a nearby village.
People running for their lives and away from an exploding Mount Tangkuban Perahu pic.twitter.com/9xvtCnqFwN
— Renae Henry (@renaehenry9) July 26, 2019
The Daily Mail reported that authorities have warned tourists not to approach the crater, saying that more volcanic activity could be likely.
The volcano is about 30 km (18 miles) north of Bandung, the capital of West Java province.
Volcano erupts in Indonesia sending 100 tourists running for safety https://t.co/xo7rhvTQ9a
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) July 26, 2019
‘Ring Of Fire’
Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire and has scores of active volcanoes, sometimes posing a threat to life and disrupting air travel, particularly on the most heavily populated islands like Java and Bali.
An eruption in 1963 killed about 1,100 people after Mount Agung erupted about 45 miles northeast of Bali’s tourist hotspot of Kuta.
Mount Agung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the so-called “Ring of Fire”—a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
The Associated Press and NTD News web staff contributed to this report.
