Volcano continues strong eruption in Bali, planes barred from passing

JAKARTA -- Mount Agung volcano in Bali, the resort island of Indonesia, continued eruption earlier Sunday with a column of ash spreading up to four km high, forcing authorities to ban flights in the territory, an official of disaster agency said.

The volcano erupted three times on Sunday morning with the latest eruption spewing the highest height of ash, four km, at 06:20 local time, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

The previous two eruption on Sunday spread ash up to 3,000 meters and 2,000 meters high, he told Xinhua in a text message.