More bodies found after eruption of Indonesian volcano, raising death toll to 22
BATU PALANO, Indonesia — Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia’s Mt. Merapi volcano found 11 more bodies of climbers who were caught by a surprise eruption two days ago, raising the number of confirmed dead to 22, officials said Tuesday. One person remained missing.
More than 50 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption Sunday, and 11 others were initially confirmed dead. New eruptions Monday and Tuesday spewed more hot ash as high as 2,620 feet into the air, reducing visibility and temporarily halting search-and-recovery operations, said Abdul Malik, chief of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency.
The bodies of two climbers were located Monday and nine more Tuesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said.
The remaining missing climber was presumed dead because he or she was very close to the eruption site, said Edi Mardianto, the deputy police chief in West Sumatra province.
The rescuers contended with bad weather and difficult terrain, along with winds that brought heat from the eruptions.
Sixteen bodies had been taken to a hospital for identification by late Tuesday, as more than 200 rescuers, including police and soldiers, struggled to bring the others down the mountain and search for the missing climber, Malik said.
Merapi has stayed at the third-highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above-normal volcanic activity, prohibiting climbers and villagers within about two miles of the peak, according to Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
Climbers were allowed only below the danger zone, and they had to register at two command posts or online. However, local officials acknowledged that many people may have climbed higher than permitted and residents also could have been in the area, making the number of people stranded by the eruption impossible to confirm.
Merapi spewed thick columns of ash as high as 9,800 feet in Sunday’s eruption, and hot ash clouds spread for several miles. Nearby villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris that blocked sunlight, and authorities recommended that people wear masks and glasses if possible to protect themselves from the ash.
About 1,400 people live on Merapi’s slopes in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, the nearest villages, which lie about three to four miles from the peak.
The Long Valley Caldera, which includes Mammoth Lakes area, has been having seismic activity, which can precede a volcanic eruption. Scientists say not to worry.
Merapi is known for having sudden eruptions that are difficult to detect because the source is shallow and near the peak, and its eruptions are not caused by deep movement of magma, which sets off tremors that register on seismic monitors.
Merapi has been active since a January eruption that caused no casualties. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
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