UPDATE
Dec 5, 2023 12:00 AM CST
Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano found more bodies among the climbers caught by a surprise eruption two days ago, raising the number of confirmed and presumed dead to 23, the AP reports. More than 50 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption Sunday, and 11 others were initially confirmed dead. Another eruption Monday spewed a new burst of hot ash as high as 2,620 feet into the air and temporarily halted search operations. The latest bodies were found not too far from the eruption site, estimated to be only a few yards away, said Edi Mardianto, the deputy police chief in West Sumatra province. Not all the bodies have yet been recovered; some are presumed dead because they were so close to the eruption of hot gases and ash.
Dec 4, 2023 12:30 AM CST
The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered Monday, a day after a furious eruption of the Mount Marapi volcano as Indonesian rescuers searched for 12 apparently still missing, the AP reports. Marapi has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above normal volcanic activity and prohibiting climbers or villagers within 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, adding that climbers were only allowed below the danger zone, "but sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further."
About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 9,480-foot mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospitals with burns and one also had a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital. All of the climbers had registered at two command posts or online through West Sumatra's conservation agency before they climbed, Agustian said. It was possible others took illegal roads or local residents were active in the area, but it couldn't be confirmed, he said.
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Marapi spewed thick columns of ash as high as 9,800 feet in Sunday's eruption and hot ash clouds spread several miles. Nearby villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. Volcanic dust and rain smeared the faces and hair of evacuated climbers, according to video on social media. Falling ash blanketed several villages and blocked sunlight, and authorities distributed masks and urged residents to wear eyeglasses to protect them from volcanic ash. About 1,400 people live on Marapi's slopes in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, the nearest villages about 3.1 to 3.7 miles from the peak.
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