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Indonesia Closes Island Airport After Volcano Erupts

Indonesia temporarily closed a domestic airport on Friday after a volcano in the country’s east erupted, spewing plumes of ash hundreds of metres into the air, officials said.The volcano, Mount Gamalama -- which forms the entire island of Ternate in North Maluku province -- erupted late Thursday and was still coughing up ash the following day.

While no one in the area has yet been told to evacuate, an airport in Ternate town at the mountain’s foot was forced to close, the transport ministry said. ”We closed the Sultan Baabulah airport this morning as the volcanic ash may pose a risk to planes,” said ministry spokesman Barata, adding that the airfield was covered with thick ash. The airport could reopen Saturday if there are no further eruptions, Barata said. Darno Lamane, an official at the volcano monitoring post, said the 1,715-metre  volcano continued to spew ash in plumes Friday.
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