GPS News
SHAKE AND BLOW
Indonesian rescuers race to find 10 missing after eruption
Indonesian rescuers race to find 10 missing after eruption
By Irwanda Saputra and Hendra Makmur
Agam, Indonesia (AFP) Dec 5, 2023

Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers were racing Tuesday to find 10 hikers who went missing after a volcano eruption that killed 13 people.

Thirteen dead hikers were found Monday near the crater of Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, with rescue officials announcing 11 deaths the same day and two more on Tuesday.

Others were found alive and carried down the mountain in arduous rescue efforts hampered by further eruptions and bad weather.

The volcano spewed an ash tower 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) -- taller than the volcano itself -- into the sky on Sunday.

"The total number of people who have died is currently 13 people. The 10 missing hikers are still being searched," Abdul Malik, head of Padang Search and Rescue Agency told AFP, adding the bodies of the two additional dead hikers were found late Monday.

Five of the dead had been brought down the mountain for identification while eight bodies had been found and were being brought down in bodybags, he said.

Images shared by national search and rescue agency Basarnas showed a rescue team of six in orange jackets and hard hats carrying a body down the side of the volcano.

The volcano was still erupting on Tuesday morning, according to officials, hampering the rescue efforts of more than 200 personnel.

Rescuers were attempting manual evacuations, walking to the top of the volcano and evacuating the victims on stretchers because of ongoing eruptions and poor visibility, said Hendri, a local rescue official who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Ahmad Rifandi, head of Marapi's monitoring post, told AFP Tuesday it had observed five eruptions from midnight to 8 am local time (0100 GMT).

"Marapi is still very much active. We can't see the height of the column because it's covered by the cloud," he said.

Volcanic ash was still falling around an information post at the base of the mountain where Marapi was not visible, according to an AFP journalist.

The head of Indonesia's volcanology agency, Hendra Gunawan, said Marapi has been at the second level of a four-tier alert system since 2011, and a three-kilometre exclusion zone had been imposed around its crater.

He appeared to blame hikers on Monday for going too close to the crater, saying the agency recommended no human activities in that zone, and emphasised that "severe impacts" were reported for victims within one to 1.5 kilometres from the crater.

- 'Still hope' -

Officials said the hikers had registered through an online booking system, but others may have been on illegal mountain routes.

Relatives were still waiting for updates at the information centre at the base of the mountain.

"I will stay here until I hear some news," said Dasman, father of missing hiker Zakir Habibi, who made a two-hour drive from Padang city to the base of the mountain in hope of good news.

"I still hope my son survives," he said on Monday.

A total of 75 hikers were listed by officials as hiking on the mountain since Saturday, with some of the 49 initially accounted for suffering burns and fractures.

The search will carry on for seven days, rescue officials said.

Those killed were severely burned and forensic workers 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.

Locals described the carnage when the volcano burst to life on Sunday.

"The villagers were shocked because of the thundering noise, then there was a jolt and also a boom. The villagers were very traumatised by the eruption," said Adrizal, head of local village Nagari Lasi.

Mount Marapi, which means "Mountain of Fire", is the most active volcano on Sumatra island.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

The archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SHAKE AND BLOW
11 hikers dead after Indonesia volcano erupts, dozen still missing
Padang, Indonesia (AFP) Dec 4, 2023
Eleven hikers were found dead Monday and another 12 were missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, with rescuers racing to carry injured and burned survivors down the mountain on foot. Rescuers worked through the night to find dozens of hikers stranded on Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra after it spewed an ash tower 3,000 metres (9,340 feet) - taller than the volcano itself - into the sky on Sunday. The dead hikers were found near Marapi's crater after the 2,891-metre volcano rained a ... read more

SHAKE AND BLOW
Maghreb farmers embrace drones to fight climate change

Morocco gardening school cultivates hope for marginalised youth

Vertically farmed greens taste as good as organic ones

Tufts University launches world's first Degree in Cellular Agriculture

SHAKE AND BLOW
Photonic chip that 'fits together like Lego' opens door to semiconductor industry

Chloride ions kill the stability of blue perovskite light emitting diodes

US chip curbs trip up China's AI-hungry tech giants

Alibaba cancels cloud service spinoff over US chip restrictions

SHAKE AND BLOW
China-made C919 passenger jet to make first flight outside mainland

Freezing rain to close Munich airport early Tuesday

Japan scours seabed for US Osprey wreckage

Seven still missing after US Osprey crash off Japan

SHAKE AND BLOW
China's electric bus revolution glides on

To help robocars make moral decisions, researchers ditch the 'trolley problem'

US proposes EV tax credit rules to curb Chinese inputs

Giddy Musk unveils Cybertruck in Tesla's latest defiant bet

SHAKE AND BLOW
Crunch time for EU-Mercosur deal at Rio summit

Moody's downgrades outlook on China credit rating over debt fears

China's Evergrande liquidation case adjourned until January: HK court

Gold strikes record on rate cut bets but equities struggle

SHAKE AND BLOW
New suspect in murder of Honduras environmental leader

France pays Congo, Papua New Guinea $150 million to save forests

New study offers cautious hope about the resilience of redwoods

'It destroys everything': Amazon community fights carbon credit project

SHAKE AND BLOW
Scientist hails accuracy of satellite data

New project investigating how aerosols could affect climate change in near future

Eutelsat OneWeb partners with Imperial College London for space weather monitoring

COP28: UK climate satellite contracts

SHAKE AND BLOW
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.