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23 Feared Dead As Indonesian Volcano Erupts

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News reporting from Indonesia

JAKARTA/PADANG (Worthy News) – Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano erupted again Monday, forcing rescuers to end the search for 12 missing climbers and raising the number of confirmed or presumed dead to 23.

Marapi spewed a new burst of hot ash as high as 800 meters (2,620 feet) into the air after the bodies of 11 climbers were recovered following the volcano’s initial eruption, officials said.

Scores of people were rescued from or near the mountain, including Zafirah Febrina. “Mum, I am still alive, but this is my condition now,” the young woman said, her face covered in mud. “Please help me,” she added in a video seen by Worthy News.

Mount Marapi, located in the Agan Regency and Tanah Datar Regency areas in West Sumatra province, has been active since a January eruption that caused no casualties. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The world’s largest Muslim nation is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) Marapi mountain on Saturday but became stranded.

Authorities rescued 52, including three on Monday. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospital with burns, and one suffered a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital.

RESCUERS WAITING

Rescuers said they hope to resume operations once conditions improve.

“This morning, we will deploy around 200 personnel on top of those already staying up there. Until now, five bodies have been brought down,” added Hendri, chief of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency. “The volcano is still erupting,” stressed Hendri, who, like many Indonesians, uses one name.

Authorities say the volcano has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, indicating above-normal volcanic activity. That volcanic activity prohibited climbers and villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.

“This means that there should be no climbing to the peak,” Gunawan said.

But not everyone took these warnings seriously, he concluded. “Sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further,” adding to the death toll, he suggested.

Those killed were severely burned. Forensic experts were preparing to identify the dead by dental and fingerprint records or based on marks on their bodies, said Eka Purnamasari, an official from the West Sumatra police medical unit.

Mount Marapi, or “Mountain of Fire,” is the most active volcano on Sumatra island, with nearby villagers now wondering when and if they can return.