Threat level Bali increased, airport closed

denpasar - The Indonesian authorities have scaled up the threat level around the Agung volcano in Bali to the highest level. The airport on the island is closed. The volcano spews a kilometer high plume of smoke from ash and steam and magma is visible in the crater.

People in a radius of 10 kilometers from the volcano are advised to leave the area immediately. 'Flames are visible at night, which may indicate that a potential eruption may happen at any moment,' says the Indonesian disaster response.

The volcano is located in the northeast of Bali about 70 kilometers from the popular seaside resorts of Kuta and Seminyak.

At the last eruption of the volcano in 1963 more than a thousand people died and various villages were destroyed.