Three survivors, who were among 75 hikers who were in the area during Sunday’s eruption, were found along with the bodies of 11 climbers on Monday, search and rescue spokesman Jodi Haryawan said.
“26 people were not evacuated, we found 14 of them: three alive and 11 dead,” said Abdul Malik, head of Padang’s search and rescue agency, a day after the eruption.
The 2,891 m high volcano spewed ash to a height of 3 km on Sunday.
Authorities raised the alert level to the second highest and banned residents from going closer than 3 km from the crater.
Videos showed a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread across the sky, with cars and roads covered in ash.
The search was halted Monday because of the new eruption, Jodi Haryawan said.
“It’s too dangerous to continue the search now,” he said.
They had approached the crater
Earlier on Monday, 49 people were evacuated from the area, many of whom were being treated for burns, he said.
The West Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency said rescue teams worked through the night to help the hikers land to safety.
Rudy Rinaldi, head of West Sumatra’s disaster relief agency, told AFP that some of the rescued people were receiving medical assistance.
“Some suffered burns because it was very hot,” he said. “Those who were injured were close to the crater.”
Marapi is one of the most active volcanoes on the island of Sumatra, and its deadliest eruption occurred in 1979. in April, when 60 people died.
This year, it erupted in January-February and threw ash to a height of about 75-1000 meters from the summit.
Indonesia is located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire and has 127 active volcanoes, according to the Volcanology Agency.
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2024-08-23 06:50:37
