Indonesia's volcanic eruption grounds international flights on tourist island of Bali

Several international airlines canceled flights to and from Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali on Wednesday as an ongoing volcanic eruption left travelers stranded at airports. Tourists told The Associated Press that they have been stuck at Bali’s airport since Tuesday after their flights were suddenly canceled. Media reports said that thousands of people were stranded at airports in Indonesia and Australia, but an exact number wasn't given. Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province spewed towering columns of hot ash high into the air since its initial huge eruption on Nov. 4 killed nine people and injured dozens of others. The 1,584-meter (5,197-foot) volcano shot up ash at least 17 times on Tuesday, with the largest column recorded at 9 kilometers (5 1/2 miles) high, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said. Authorities on Tuesday expanded the danger zone as the volcano erupted again to 9 kilometers (5 1/2 miles) as volcanic materials, including smoldering rocks, lava, and hot, thumb-size fragments of gravel and ash, were thrown up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater since Friday. The activity at the volcano has disturbed flights at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai international airport since the eruption started, airport general manager Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said. Over the past four days, 84 flights, including 36 scheduled to depart and 48 due to arrive, were affected.<br/>