The Marapi volcano in West Sumatra, Indonesia which erupted on Sunday has claimed the lives of 11 climbers, with 12 others still missing.
Search operations, briefly halted due to safety concerns, resumed as three survivors were discovered along with the bodies of the deceased climbers.
Jodi Haryawan, spokesperson for the search and rescue team, confirmed that all the victims were local climbers among the 75 in the area during the eruption. Evacuation efforts for the survivors and recovered bodies continue, with 49 climbers already evacuated earlier, many undergoing treatment for burns.
“We have continued to search for the 12 missing climbers until this evening. We have not decided when we are going to stop the operation,” stated Jodi.
He commented on the ongoing challenges of the evacuation process, taking four to six hours to remove one deceased climber from the 2,891-meter-high volcano.
The eruption, which occurred on Sunday, propelled ash up to 3 km into the sky. Marapi, one of Sumatra’s most active volcanoes, experienced its most lethal eruption in April 1979, resulting in 60 casualties. This year, it had erupted between January and February, with ash reaching heights between 75 meters and 1,000 meters. Authorities had elevated the alert to the second-highest level, prohibiting residents from approaching within 3 km of the crater.
Video footage depicted a vast cloud of volcanic ash spreading across the sky, covering cars and roads. A minor eruption on Monday morning led to a temporary suspension of the search for a few hours. Indonesia, located in the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” houses 127 active volcanoes, according to the volcanology agency.
