Volcano eruption forces airport shutdown in eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Leo Wattimena airport in Indonesia's North Maluku province was closed on Tuesday as volcanic ashes from Mount Dukono volcano endangered flights, an official of an affected airline said.

The closure started at 11:00 a.m. local time Tuesday and will last until 11:00 a.m. local time Wednesday, according to Danang Mandala Prihantoro, corporate communications strategist of Wings Air, a low cost airline which cancelled its flight on Tuesday.

"For that condition, Wings Air had flight cancellation to ensure the safety of flight," Prihantoro said in a statement.

Mount Dukono's alert status was put at the third highest level with no-go zone of 200 meters from the crater, according to the country's volcanology agency.

Mount Dukono is one of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation made up of over 17,500 islands.