Indonesian authorities are searching for several hundred tourists after Mount Barujari on Lombok island spewed a massive column of ash into the atmosphere. The volcano, also known as the “Child of Rinjani” because it sits within the Mount Rinjani caldera, erupted without warning on Tuesday afternoon, delaying flights from airports in Lombok and nearby Bali. “We are still searching for about 389 other tourists, mostly foreign tourists, to find out their condition and to evacuate them immediately,” Nugroho said. Farms and trees around the 3,726-metre volcano were coated in a thin layer of grey ash, but nearby towns and villages were not in danger, Nugroho said. The archipelago is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific “ring of fire”.

Source: The Guardian September 28, 2016 07:18 UTC