Australian tourists were woken up in the middle of the night and evacuated from their hotels in Bali over fears a huge volcano could erupt.
Mount Agung has been smoking for almost a week and could explode in a matter of hours after Indonesian authorities put it on the highest alert level.
But despite more than 80,000 people fleeing their homes within 12km of the volcano, Bali’s tourism office insists the island is still safe for tourists.
Australian tourists were woken up in the middle of the night and evacuated from their hotels in Bali over fears Mount Agung (pictured) could erupt at any momen
Monique Correia had to flee, saying: ‘The lady from my hotel has just told us to all pack our stuff and evacuate and drive back to Kuta now.’
Pemerintah Provinsi Bali, Indonesia’s national disaster agency, urged holidaymakers to ‘continue visiting Bali’ in a letter claiming it was ‘business as usual’.
‘Bali tourism is safe. Do not spread the misleading news that Bali is not safe because Mount Agung is on the highest alert status. Please, come and visit Bali,’ it read.
The letter said Agung was 70km away from tourist hotspot Kuta and 32km from Ubud, and 300 buses were on standby to get holidaymakers to ferries off the island if flights were cancelled.
Rory Eastick, a tourist from Newcastle in Bali for a wedding, said he was woken up at 11.30pm by his Indonesian brother-in-law and told to evacuate his hotel immediately.
Rory Eastick, a tourist from Newcastle in Bali for a wedding, said he was woken up at 11.30pm and told to evacuate his hotel immediately
Mr Eastick with his Indonesian brother-in-law, who woke him up to an empty hotel, at the wedding in the remote village of Munti Gunung the previous day
‘It was quite a worrying moment because it was at that time we realised everyone in our hotel had already left,’ he told News Corp.
‘Family staying in another hotel were kicked out and made to find their own way to safety.’
Mr Eastick was staying in the diving town of Tulamben, less than 10km from Agung, after the wedding in the remote village of Munti Gunung.
His friends and family shared their own tales of being forced out of their accommodation and fleeing to towns farther away.
‘Got back to our hotel in Tulamben and it was evacuated, no one there at all,’ Asher Boekeman wrote on Facebook.
Asher Boekeman came back to her hotel to find it abandoned and had to flee elsewhere
The Perth woman said her group found this note on the door of the hotel telling them a room was booked for them at a sister hotel
The Perth woman said her group found a note on the door of the hotel telling them a room was booked for them at a sister hotel.
‘Dear guests, because of the increased activity on the volcano we had to move to our Amed branch,’ it read.
‘Passed lots of bikes with all of their bags and bird cages. Seems like lots of people have up and left,’ Ms Boekeman said after returning to Kuta.
Mr Eastick replied: ‘Yeah we went through Tulamben just before and it was a ghost town, so weird.’
Another friend, Monique Correia, said: ‘The lady from my hotel has just told us to all pack our stuff and evacuate and drive back to Kuta now.’
Bali’s tourism office insists the island is safe for tourists, urging holidaymakers to ‘continue visiting Bali’ in a letter claiming it was ‘business as usual’
The smoking Mount Agung from Mr Eastick’s hotel less than 10km away
Scientists said there were 1,000 tremours around Agung in a single day and if they continue it could erupt in a matter of hours.
Airlines flying from Australia to Denpasar, including Jetstar and Virgin Australia, are taking on excess jet fuel in Darwin on the way in case the volcano erupts.
It has been smoking for almost a week since a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck of the neighbourng island of Java last Thursday.
More than 50,000 Australian tourists are on the idyllic holiday island for their school holidays, but authorities insist the destination is safe.
Mr Eastick was staying in the diving town of Tulamben, less than 10km from Agung