Manado, North Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Thousands of passengers had to postpone their departures from Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado due to the impact of volcanic ash eruptions from Mount Ruang in Tagulandang, North Sulawesi.

"There are 47 flight routes impacted until the second day," said Maya Damayanti, General Manager of Sam Ratulangi Airport, on Friday.

A total of 47 flights and 6,165 passengers to Jakarta, Surabaya, Sorong, Balikpapan, and several international flights had to be postponed until the next day, she said.

Affected passengers are advised to contact their airlines regarding rescheduling or refunds.

"I hope passengers will be patient in this situation because it is for flight safety, and we will also notify them of any new developments," she added.

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) reported that the safe zone was within a radius of 6 kilometers from the center of the eruption.

Earlier, the PVMBG stated that during the last 24 hours, five eruptions had occurred, with a height of 1,800 to 3,000 meters from the peak of Mount Ruang.

The explosive eruption caused rumbling sounds, earthquakes, and flashes of volcanic lightning.

From April 1 to 17, the PVMBG recorded 1,439 deep volcanic earthquakes, 569 shallow volcanic earthquakes, six local tectonic earthquakes, and 167 distant tectonic earthquakes on Mount Ruang.

The Manado Search and Rescue (SAR) Team evacuated 626 residents of Tagulandang to North Minahasa.

On April 17, a total of 579 people were evacuated, followed by 47 the next day, on a ship from Minanga Port in Tagulandang to Munte Port in Minut.

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Translator: Nancy Lynda Tigauw, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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