Bali volcano eruption: Incredible aerial footage shows Mount Agung’s huge ash cloud

Mount Agung sent a massive gas cloud 4,000m (13,100 feet) into the sky after it erupted for the second time in less than a week. 

After months of seismic activity, the erupted and local residents have been warned to stay out of the danger zone. 

A “red warning” was issued to flights in the area around the volcano after and rising high in the sky. 

In the footage, the incredible eruption was captured on board a plane as the red cloud erupted into the skyline. 

Mount Agung’s eruption led major airlines to cancel flights to and from the island as fears grow about a major blast. 

People within a 7.5km exclusion zone were told by authorities to “immediately evacuate” in an “orderly and calm manner”.

About 25,000 people are thought to be in shelters while more than 140,000 people fled earlier this year in fear of the volcano erupting.

After resuming flights on Sunday morning, Virgin Australia again cancelled flights on Sunday afternoon following a change in the aviation colour code from orange to red.

In a statement on its website, Virgin said: “Due to the significant volcanic ash and current weather conditions, we have made the decision to cancel the rest of today’s flights to and from Bali as a precautionary measure.”

AirAsia also cancelled its remaining flights to Bali and Lombok.

According to Indonesia’s disaster agency, Bali is “still safe” for tourists except for the 4.7-mile zone around Mount Agung.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said in an advisory from it’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VACC) in Darwin the eruption was “expected to be ongoing”.

Gede Suantika, an official at the volcanology and geological disaster mitigation agency, said: “The activity of Mount Agung has entered the magmatic eruption phase, it is still spewing ash at the moment, but we need to monitor and be cautious over the possibility of a strong, explosive eruption.”

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said 40,000 people had been evacuated from near Bali’s erupting Mount Agung volcano, but tens of thousands still needed to move

Mount Agung’s last eruption, in 1963, left more than 1,000 people dead and destroyed several villages. 

Police and soldiers distributed masks on the weekend as ash settled on villages and resorts.