At least 22 people have died in the eruption of the Marapi volcano in western Indonesia. After discovering nine new bodies of deceased hikers, emergency services announced on Tuesday evening that they were still searching for a missing person.
The most active volcano on the island of Sumatra erupted on Sunday, spewing a 3,000-meter tower of ash into the sky, higher than the volcano itself.
“Nine of the ten missing victims were found dead this afternoon and are currently being evacuated. We are still looking for a victim,” Padang city emergency director Abdul Malik told AFP.
Several hundred Indonesian rescuers were mobilized on Tuesday for the search, which continues in difficult conditions due to bad weather and ash still being released from the volcano.
The bodies were carried down the mountain in body bags, emergency services said.
Other hikers were found alive and brought back in arduous rescue operations.
Images shared by emergency services show a team of six people in orange jackets and hard hats carrying a body up the side of the volcano.
If possible, rescuers climb to the top of the volcano and evacuate victims on stretchers. But persistent eruptions and poor visibility make operations dangerous, Hendri said.
One of the survivors spoke of the panic that prevailed at the start of the outbreak. “I zigzagged and went down about 30 to 40 meters to a hiking post,” 22-year-old Ridho told AFP from a nearby hospital.
“The outbreak made a lot of noise, I looked behind me and then immediately ran away, like everyone else. Some jumped and fell. I sought shelter behind the rocks, there were no trees.”
Dangerous operations
Ahmad Rifandi, head of the Marapi monitoring station, observed five eruptions between midnight and 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. GMT). “The Marapi is still very active. “We cannot see the height of the pillar (of ash) because it is covered by clouds,” he explained.
Authorities said the hikers registered through an online reservation system, but others may have chosen alternative mountain routes.
Photo AFP
The head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, Hendra Gunawan, appeared to blame hikers on Monday for getting too close to the crater. He said the agency recommended avoiding human activity in the area and warned of possible “severe impacts” to victims within 1 mile to 1.5 kilometers of the crater.
Relatives were still waiting for news at the information center at the foot of the volcano, where a mother fainted while waiting on Tuesday.
A total of 75 hikers were listed by authorities as being at the scene since Saturday, including 49 initially identified and some with burns and broken bones. The search is expected to last a total of seven days or until all hikers are found, emergency services said.
The dead were badly burned and forensic experts were preparing to identify them using dental or fingerprints, said Eka Purnamasari, an official with the West Sumatra police medical unit.
Marapi, whose name means “rise of fire” in the local language, had been in the second alert level on a scale of four since 2011. A three-kilometer-long exclusion zone was imposed around its crater.
Residents of the surrounding communities were also surprised by the outbreak. “The villagers were shaken by a thunderous sound, then there was a jolt and also a bang,” said Adrizal, head of the local village of Nagari Lasi, describing the “traumatized” population.
Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the collision of continental plates results in significant volcanic and seismic activity. The country has almost 130 active volcanoes.