Listen: Stellenbosch student relives commotion in Bali amidst volcanic eruption
What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation to Bali turned into a time of fear and panic for this young South African woman and her three friends.
Stellenbosch University student Lara Peach was one of the thousands of holidaymakers and citizens trying to leave Bali ahead of the anticipated volcanic eruption, which happened on Monday.
According to TimesLive, not only did the volcano leave tens of thousands of people stranded on the island, but it is estimated that more than 400 flights were disrupted after a volcanic ash cloud spewed from Mount Agung. Approximately 100‚000 residents in the 10km exclusion zone around the volcano were also evacuated for safety reasons.
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I managed to catch up with Lara Peach, a Stellenbosch student who found herself in Bali with three of her friends. She was traveling for the first time without her family and had spent months planning her holiday to Bali with her friends.
In addition to the chaos around her, Lara had another issue to grapple with. She had to deal with the fact that she may not make it home in time to write her exam on Wednesday. If she does not make it in time to write the exam, there's a chance that she will fail the module.
Listen as Lara relives some of the commotion during her Bali holiday in the podcast:
Check out the timelapse video which shows the ash spewing from the mountain. This looks like something from a horror movie.
According to BBC, it's the second day in a row that the airport is closed for flights leaving and entering Bali. The volcano is still emitting ash clouds and lava.
With the thousands of passengers, including Lara and her friends, who are left stranded, I hope that they make it home safely. I can only imagine how worried Lara's parents must be?