Indonesia reroutes all flights around erupting Anak Krakatau volcano

JAKARTA - Indonesia on Thursday (Dec 27) rerouted all flights around the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano between Java and Sumatra islands, as it spewed columns of ash into the air, days after it triggered a deadly tsunami.

A crater collapse on the volcanic island at high tide last Saturday sent waves up to five metres high smashing into the coast on the Sunda Strait, killing more than 400 people.

"All flights are rerouted due to Krakatau volcano ash on red alert," the government air-traffic control agency AirNav said in a release.

Authorities raised the volcano's alert level to the second-highest on Thursday, expanding the current two-km to a five-km exclusion zone.