Indonesia on Thursday rerouted all flights around the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano between Java and Sumatra islands, as it spewed columns of ash into the air, days after it triggered a deadly tsunami.
A crater collapse on the volcanic island at high tide on Saturday sent waves up to 5 meters (16 feet) high smashing into the coast on the Sunda Strait, killing more than 400 people.
“All flights are rerouted due to Krakatau volcano ash on red alert,” the government air-traffic control agency AirNav said in a release.
Authorities raised the volcano’s alert level to the second-highest on Thursday, imposing a 5-km exclusion zone.
This latest development will hinder the aid agencies in getting emergency aid and necessary equipment into the region.
The Desperate search for survivors continues in Indonesia
The death toll from the volcano-triggered tsunami has reached at least 281 people.
1,016 were injured, 57 are missing and 11,687 have been displaced.
Indonesian rescuers are scrambling with diggers and other heavy equipment and even their bare hands, trying to free survivors from the rubble.
More than 600 homes and more than 400 boats and ships were damaged.
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