2023-12-05 18:00:00
This photograph taken on December 4, 2023 and released on December 5, 2023 by the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) shows rescuers evacuating one of the victims from the slopes of Mount Marapi in Western Sumatra. – Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers raced Dec. 5 to find 10 hikers who went missing after a volcanic eruption that killed 13 people. (Photo by Brochure / BASARNAS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / NATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE AGENCY (BASARNAS)” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CUSTOMERS – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP FOTO / National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS)” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CUSTOMERS /
By Irwanda SAPUTRA y Hendra MAKMUR
Indonesian rescue teams found the bodies of more victims on Tuesday after the eruption of a volcano in the west of the country, bringing the death toll to 22, and continue the search for another missing hiker.
The deceased mountaineers were found near the crater of Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, which on Sunday had sent up a column of smoke 3,000 meters high.
The death toll rose to 22 after the discovery of two bodies and nine other bodies hours later, reported Abdul Malik, head of the Search and Rescue Agency in the city of Padang.
“We are still looking for a victim,” he added.
“The volcano is still erupting,” Hendri, head of operations at the same agency, told AFP, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.
Rescue teams have also found people alive, who were evacuated from the mountain in a complex rescue device due to new eruptions and bad weather.
One of the survivors mentioned the panic he felt at the beginning of the eruption. “I zigzagged, I went down about 30 or 40 meters” to a hiking post, explained Ridho, 22, from a nearby hospital.
«The eruption made a lot of noise, I looked back and immediately ran away, like everyone else. Some jumped and fell. “I took refuge behind some rocks, there were no trees there,” she added.
– Volcanic activity continues –
The volcano is still active, according to Ahmad Rifandi, head of the Marapi monitoring post, who observed five eruptions between 00:00 and 0800 (0100 GMT).
«Marapi continues to be very active. “We cannot see the height of the column because a cloud covers it,” she noted.
For his part, the head of Indonesia’s volcanological agency, Hendra Gunawan, stated that since 2011 Marapi was at alert level two (of four) and that a three-kilometer exclusion zone was imposed around the crater.
This official seemed to blame the hikers for getting too close to the crater, and insisted that the agency recommended not visiting that area and that the “severe impacts” for the victims occurred within a radius of 1 to 1.5 kilometers from the crater.
The authorities assured that the mountaineers registered in an online service, but that others had used illegal routes.
Relatives waited for news at an information center at the base of the mountain, where a mother fainted during the wait.
“I will stay here until I have news,” said Dasman, father of missing trekker Zakir Habibi, after traveling two hours from Padang to obtain information.
“I still hope my son survives,” he declared Monday.
A total of 75 mountaineers were registered to hike the mountain as of Saturday. Some of the survivors suffered burns or fractures.
Search operations will continue for seven days or until all senders are located, inform rescuers.
The deceased had severe burns, so forensic experts were preparing to identify them with dental records or fingerprints, or based on marks on the bodies, explained Eka Purnamasari, from the West Sumatra police medical unit.
Mount Marapi, which means Fire Mountain, is the most active volcano on the island of Sumatra.
Indonesia sees frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the “Pacific Ring of Fire.”
The archipelago has about 130 active volcanoes.
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© Agence France-Presse
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