The official death toll now stands at 13 with 12 people still missing. Search operations are expected to continue for a week, but rain and ongoing eruptions are complicating the situation. Dozens of hikers were near the crater with almost 50 managed getting treatment in hospitals yesterday.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Bad weather is hampering search and rescue operations on Sumatra’s Mount Marapi, which erupted on Sunday killing 13 people according to the latest count. Rescuers have managed to bring 49 people to safety, but another 12 are still missing.
Some 75 hikers were near the eruption zone Sunday evening when the volcano, which means "mountain of fire" in Indonesian, began sending ash into the air that covered surrounding villages within a radius of three kilometres, the authorities report.
Videos posted on social media over the past two days show cars, roads and people covered in ash, with ambulances taking advantage of some calm moments to take the dead and injured from the volcano’s rugged ground.
“Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital," said Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency. “Marapi is still very active,” added Ahmad Rifandi, head of the Marapi monitoring station.
The volcano – one of 127 in Indonesia – rises almost 3,000 metres and is a very popular destination among hikers but is dangerous due to the constant risk of eruption.
Some trails were only reopened in June after a series of ash eruptions last January and February. The most tragic eruption occurred in 1979, when 60 people died.
The head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, Hendra Gunawan, said Marapi had been at the second alert level out of four since 2011, and a three-kilometre exclusion zone had been imposed around the crater.
Rescuers plan to continue search operations for a week. Family members of the missing and victims have travelled to the base of the volcano waiting for updates.
“I will stay here until I hear some news,” said Dasman, father of missing hiker Zakir Habibi, speaking to reporters. He travelled from Padang City and still hopes his son is among the survivors.
Residents of villages located near Marapi said they were shocked and traumatised by the eruption. “There was a jolt and also a boom,” said a local village leader.
Indonesia, which has thousands of islands, lies at the intersections of two continental tectonic plates, and is subject to frequent volcanic and seismic activity.