JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities are urging people not to climb the active Mount Agung volcano on Bali after a video of a foreigner standing at the edge of its smoking crater circulated online.
Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Friday that the volcano is “very dangerous” and could explode anytime. It’s been at its highest alert level since Sept. 22, sparking an exodus of more than 140,000 people from the area.
The video posted on Facebook shows a middle-aged man speaking French while plumes of steam rise from the crater he is perched above.
Nugroho said an exclusion zone that extends to 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the crater in places should not be entered.
An eruption would release lava and superheated ash and gas clouds that would speed down the mountain’s slopes, he said.
Last week, four Hindu priests angered authorities by posting a video of the crater after climbing the peak to pray.
Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing more than 1,100 people.
Man films himself atop Bali volcano, angering officials
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