The toll is very heavy on the island of Sumatra and unfortunately it is only provisional. Eleven hikers were found dead following the eruption of a volcano in western Indonesia, a rescue official said on Monday.
“There are 26 people who were not evacuated, we found 14, three were found alive and eleven were found dead,” said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang search and rescue agency. .
Ash ejected up to 3,000 meters above the summit
The eruption of Mount Marapi began at 2:54 p.m. on Sunday. Abdul Malik said there were a total of 75 hikers who had been on the mountain since Saturday and rescuers were trying to count them. Twelve of them are still missing and 49 have come down from the mountain, some having been taken to hospital.
Ash ejected from Mount Marapi was observed up to 3,000 meters above its summit, Hendra Gunawan, head of the Indonesian Center for Vulcanology and Geological Hazards, said on Sunday.
Rescue teams worked through the night to help hikers get to safety, the West Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency said. Rudy Rinaldi, director of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency, said some of the rescued hikers were receiving medical treatment. “Some suffered burns due to the high heat and were taken to hospital,” he said. “The injured are those who approached the crater.”
A particularly active “mountain of fire”
Marapi, 2,891 meters high and whose name means “the mountain of fire”, is the most active volcano in Sumatra. It is currently at the third alert level, on a scale of four. Authorities have imposed a three-kilometer exclusion zone around its crater.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes significant volcanic and seismic activity. The country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.