Airport closed due to smoke

PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: The Tjilik Riwut airport here was closed yesterday due to thick smoke, forcing the cancellation of 16 scheduled flights.

The airport's chief administrator, Ichwanul Idrus, said it would be closed indefinitely until visibility improved. He could not predict how long flights to the province's biggest airport would be suspended.

The source of the thick smoke remains a mystery since the nearest forest fires in the area had been extinguished several days earlier.

Several residents suspect the smoke could be coming from fires in other provinces, Antara reported. (mds)