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1st LD: Indonesia shuts down Bali airport due to volcanic ash

Xinhua, August 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The international Ngurah Rai airport in Bali was closed on Thursday again as the volcanic ash from Mount Raung disrupted flights, leaving thousands of tourists stranded on the resort island.

Spokesman of the Transport Ministry J.A. Barata said the fresh closure was ordered at 11:00 a.m. Jakarta time (0300 GMT), the fourth time since last month.

The closure "is because of the spread of volcanic ash from Mount Raung this morning," he told Xinhua.

Nevertheless, the spokesman said that the shutdown would only last for hours until 17:00 p.m. (0900 GMT).

Local Metro TV reported that thousands of tourists have to wait at the airport due to delayed flights.

About 300,000 foreign holiday-makers visit Bali every month, and foreign tourist arrivals reached 357,700 in June, according to the national statistic bureau.

Mount Raung in East Java, about 150 km from the Bali international airport, has displayed high seismic activity in recent weeks with on-and-off eruption.

On July 9, Indonesian Transport Ministry closed Bali airport and four others due to the volcano's eruption.

Mount Raung is among 80 volcanoes monitored regularly in the archipelago country with about 17,500 islands. Endi