Mount Agung: Bali volcano alert raised to highest level

Fears of an imminent major eruption of Bali's Mount Agung have increased and the evacuation zone around the volcano has been widened. The Indonesian authorities have raised the state of alert on the island to its highest level. The island's airport has now closed, leaving many stranded in the tourist hotspot destination. Dark smoke has been seen billowing up to 3,400m above the mountain's summit. The National Board for Disaster Management said explosions were being heard 12km from the summit. The alert was raised to the level four from 22:00 GMT on Sunday, because of "the possibility and imminent risk of disaster". The authorities have been disrupting masks for local residents, and have ordered people within a widened 10km (six-mile) exclusion zone to evacuate the area. Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. It is home to more than 130 active volcanoes. The last time Mount Agung erupted, in 1963, more than 1,000 people died.