Merapi ash prevents air travel to Jakarta
Source: Agencies |
November 7, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
INTERNATIONAL airlines canceled flights into Indonesia's capital yesterday after a volcano hundreds of kilometers to the west unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century, incinerating villagers as they fled a searing gas cloud.
The number of people killed by Mount Merapi in the last two weeks climbed to 138, as a tiny hospital at the foot of the mountain struggled to cope with survivors, some with burns on up to 95 percent of their bodies.
The only sign of life in one man, whose eyes were milky gray in color and never blinked, was the shallow rising and falling of his chest. Others, their lungs choked with abrasive volcanic ash, struggled to breathe.
Indonesia's most volatile mountain unleashed a surge of searing gas, rocks and debris on Friday that raced down its slopes at high speeds, mowing down the slope-side village of Bronggang and leaving a trail of charred corpses in its path.
It continued to rumble and groan yesterday, at times spitting ash up to eight kilometers in the air, dusting windshields, rooftops and leaves on trees.
Just days before US President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia, international carriers canceled flights to the capital, Jakarta, over concerns about the volcano, 450km away.
"The volcanic ash presence in the airways surrounding Jakarta could cause severe damage to our aircraft and engines which could impair the safety of our operations including passengers and crew," said Azharuddin Osman, director of operations for Malaysia Airlines.
Among the other carriers temporarily suspending flights were Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. Domestic flights were unaffected, except for those going to Yogyakarta, the city closest to the volcano whose airport closed on Friday.
The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano in April forced the closure of most European airports for a week and led to the cancellation of over 100,000 flights.
But Tia Wanti, an information officer at Jakarta's international airport, implied the move was premature, saying the dust wasn't causing problems either in the skies above the airport or on its runways. The airport handles about 1,200 flights a day, and the airline decisions caused about 10 percent of those to be canceled.
The Indonesian government, meanwhile, has expanded a "danger zone" to a ring 20km from the peak, bringing it to the edge of the ancient royal capital of Yogyakarta, which has been put on its highest alert.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanoes because it sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a string of faults that lines the Pacific Ocean.
The number of people killed by Mount Merapi in the last two weeks climbed to 138, as a tiny hospital at the foot of the mountain struggled to cope with survivors, some with burns on up to 95 percent of their bodies.
The only sign of life in one man, whose eyes were milky gray in color and never blinked, was the shallow rising and falling of his chest. Others, their lungs choked with abrasive volcanic ash, struggled to breathe.
Indonesia's most volatile mountain unleashed a surge of searing gas, rocks and debris on Friday that raced down its slopes at high speeds, mowing down the slope-side village of Bronggang and leaving a trail of charred corpses in its path.
It continued to rumble and groan yesterday, at times spitting ash up to eight kilometers in the air, dusting windshields, rooftops and leaves on trees.
Just days before US President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia, international carriers canceled flights to the capital, Jakarta, over concerns about the volcano, 450km away.
"The volcanic ash presence in the airways surrounding Jakarta could cause severe damage to our aircraft and engines which could impair the safety of our operations including passengers and crew," said Azharuddin Osman, director of operations for Malaysia Airlines.
Among the other carriers temporarily suspending flights were Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. Domestic flights were unaffected, except for those going to Yogyakarta, the city closest to the volcano whose airport closed on Friday.
The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano in April forced the closure of most European airports for a week and led to the cancellation of over 100,000 flights.
But Tia Wanti, an information officer at Jakarta's international airport, implied the move was premature, saying the dust wasn't causing problems either in the skies above the airport or on its runways. The airport handles about 1,200 flights a day, and the airline decisions caused about 10 percent of those to be canceled.
The Indonesian government, meanwhile, has expanded a "danger zone" to a ring 20km from the peak, bringing it to the edge of the ancient royal capital of Yogyakarta, which has been put on its highest alert.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanoes because it sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a string of faults that lines the Pacific Ocean.
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