JAKARTA: The Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali spewed ash and steam Tuesday, but authorities said its alert level remained unchanged. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the minor eruption began at about 5 p.m. and the plume rose about 700 meters (2,300 feet) from the volcano. Bali’s international airport remained open. Volcanologists say the eruption was caused by magma heating water, which is called a phreatic eruption, rather than a generally more dangerous eruption of magma itself, Nugroho said. Agung’s alert status was recently lowered to the second-highest warning level after several weeks at the highest level. Published in Daily Times, November 22nd 2017.