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Timika's airport closed following thick haze
Mozes Kilangin airport in Timika (kompas
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timika: Mozes Kilangin airport in Timika (kompas.com) (kompas.com)
Mozes Kilangin airport in Timika (kompas.com)
Officials closed Mozes Kilangin airport in Timika for two days following haze coming from the southern part of Papua, officials said on Friday.
John Rettob, transportation and information office chief, said that the visibility in the airport was only 500 meters out of the minimum 1,500 m required by the Transportation Ministry.
"Smog has been seen in Timika since last week but the density kept rising especially over the past two days when the visibility only reached 500 m," he said.
John said that regular flights to Timika of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and private carriers Sriwijaya Air and Air Fast could not operate in the airport since Thursday.
"Timika is currently closed because no airplanes can come in or out from here," he said.
The haze also disrupted shipping as boats and ships are banned from getting out of Timika port.
John said that the smog is coming from the southern part of Indonesia's eastern most province.
Sem Padamma, chief of the Jayapura branch of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said that the hot spots are recorded in two districts, 92 hotspots in Merauke district and 12 in Merauke district.
He explained that as the wind blew from south to north, the haze was sent to Timika even though no hot spots were found there.
Based on BMKG data, the hot spots had started since the beginning of September and were not only in the southern part of Papua but in the neighboring West Papua province as well.
"We did not know whether the source of the haze is forest or land fires. We only found hot spots on our radar," Sem said.
Brig. Gen Supartodi, military resort commander of Anim Ti Waninggap, said that local people burned land during the dry season, which caused the hot spots.
"They expected grass to grow in the burned land during the rainy season for a hunting place," he said adding that he had assigned his personnel to cooperate with the locals to extinguish fires if hot spots were found. (rin)
