Bali volcano appears calm

JAKARTA: The Mount Agung volcano on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali was calm on Monday, emitting only a thin column of sulfuric steam, the disaster management agency said. “There has been no eruption,” said national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho. The volcano’s alert remains at the highest level but Bali is safe except for the 10-kilometre exclusion zone, he said. Bali’s international airport was operating normally, the state-run airport operator Angkasa Pura said. The airport had been closed for two-and-a-half days last week due to fears that ash from the volcano could threaten flight safety. Australian budget carrier Jetstar Airways said it had resumed scheduled services to and from Bali on Monday, “with flying conditions around Denpasar Airport expected to remain clear for the next 24 hours.” The country’s volcanology agency warned over the weekend that there was still a large amount of pressure inside the volcano despite no eruption occurring. Authorities raised the warning alert to the highest level on November 27 and ordered the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people after the volcano erupted for two consecutive days. — dpa