Indonesia volcano: evacuation of thousands of people – 8 pm

An exceptional phenomenon in the Indonesian skies, a kilometer-high plume of smoke causes a volcanic storm. The Ruang volcano in northern Indonesia has been erupting since Tuesday. Rescuers rush to evacuate the most vulnerable residents. There have already been five eruptions in two days. And miles of volcanic rock were hurled. On the volcano-facing island, debris damaged homes and complicated rescuers' work. “We were forced to leave the harbor where we were stationed,” explained Jandry Bandong, head of search and rescue operations in Manado (Indonesia). Faced with the scale of the event, authorities announced the evacuation of 11,000 people living near the volcano. No casualties have been reported so far. As French tourist Alexia Garez noted, soldiers were sent to help the residents. She describes the situation there. Still, 100 km from the volcano, the ash cloud is paralyzing an international airport, where all flights have been canceled until further notice. Officials have issued a tsunami warning. Six years ago, another volcano in the archipelago partially collapsed. 430 people died in this disaster. TF1 | Report A. Boudarias, D. Krier, V. Abellaneda