Some Bali flights cancelled as Indonesia's Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupts, spews ash clouds 8 km into sky

Several Bali flights were cancelled after the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano in south-central Indonesia erupted three times into Friday.

The volcano eruption spewed ash column 8,000 metres (26,200 feet) high, prompting authorities to expand the danger zone around the volcano.

Flights cancelled

According to Reuters, several airlines cancelled flights between Australia and Indonesia's tourist island of Bali due to the eruption, while other international and domestic flights to the island have been delayed.

As of 9:45 am (0145 GMT) Friday, "seven international flights had been cancelled, six of them are Jetstar flights bound to Australia and one Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur," Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport spokesman, Andadina Dyah, said in a statement.

Several other flights — both domestic and international, including to Thailand, Singapore and Australia — have been delayed, it said.

Indonesian volcano

The volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has had hundreds of earthquakes and visible volcanic activity has significantly increased in the last seven days.

After the three eruptions late Thursday and early Friday, the volcano was quiet during the day. Seismic activity monitored from the observation post in Wulangitang showed a decline.

Authorities raised the eruption alert to the highest level and expanded the danger zone from 7 kilometres (4.5 miles) to 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the crater. No new evacuations were immediately reported.

Residents were warned to be vigilant about heavy rainfall triggering lava flows in rivers originating from the volcano, Indonesia's geology agency said in a statement.

An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in November had killed nine people and injured dozens.

The 1,584-metre (5,197 foot) mountain is a twin volcano with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in the Flores Timur district.

Indonesia is an archipelago of 270 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanos and sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

(With inputs from agencies)