A volcano on the holiday island of Bali is spewing steam and sulphurous fumes with more intensity, heightening fears of an eruption as officials said the number of evacuees had touched 144,000.<br/>'<br/>Mount Agung, 75 kms from the resort hub of Kuta, has been shaking since August and threatening to erupt for the first time since 1963.<br/>'<br/>The Indonesian Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said today that remote satellite sensing had picked up new steam emissions and thermal areas within the crater.<br/>'<br/>White steam clouds — which contain sulphurous fumes — have been observed rising 50 to 200 metres above the summit, the centre said.<br/>'<br/><br/>Bali's disaster mitigation agency said 144,389 people had been evacuated, compared to a total of about 122,490 by yesterday.<br/>'<br/>They are staying in nearly 500 makeshift shelters in nine districts and some have crossed the Lombok Strait to take refuge on the neighbouring island of Lombok.