JAKARTA: Indonesia closed the Sam Ratulangi airport in Manado, North Sulawesi, due to a volcano eruption overnight, the transport ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The airport will be closed until Thursday evening, the ministry said, with nine flights affected so far.

Mount Ruang, a stratovolcano in North Sulawesi Province, erupted several times on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Authorities had raised the alert level to its highest point after the dome spewed a column of smoke more than 1.6 kilometres into the sky, and forced hundreds to evacuate.

The alert level for the volcano, which has a peak of 725 metres above sea level, was then raised on Wednesday evening from three to four, the highest possible level in the four-tiered system.

 - Reuters