|
|
|
|
|
22 December 2023
|
24 killed after eruption of Indonesia's Mount Merapi
|
|
|
On 3 December 2023, Mount Marapi, a complex volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, erupted, sending ash as high as 3 000 metres into the air and depositing large amounts of volcanic ash in nearby districts. 24 hikers were found dead near the crater of the volcano. About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 2 900-metre mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued on 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 could not be confirmed, he said.
The eruption occurred while many climbers were on the mountain's slopes. Out of 75 hikers who climbed the mountain on 2 December 2023, 49 were evacuated, three were found alive and rescued and 24 were found dead; 12 of the survivors were injured.
The fatalities were found near the crater of the volcano, while the search for other missing hikers was interrupted by sporadic eruptions, with the body of the last fatality being recovered on 6 December 2023. The fatalities suffered severe burns that prevented facial identification, while some of the survivors sustained burns and fractures. One hiker recalled that he had not noticed any warning that the volcano was going to erupt apart from encountering a group of monkeys screaming frantically as they reached the foot of the volcano upon their descent.
Several cities in West Sumatra such as Padang Panjang and Bukittinggi, as well as the regencies of Pasaman and West Pasaman received volcanic ash. The eruption lasted four minutes and registered 30mm as its maximum amplitude on a seismograph.
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 3km of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
Marapi is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Source: Al Jazeera
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 could not be confirmed, he said.
The eruption occurred while many climbers were on the mountain's slopes. Out of 75 hikers who climbed the mountain on 2 December 2023, 49 were evacuated, three were found alive and rescued and 24 were found dead; 12 of the survivors were injured.
The fatalities were found near the crater of the volcano, while the search for other missing hikers was interrupted by sporadic eruptions, with the body of the last fatality being recovered on 6 December 2023. The fatalities suffered severe burns that prevented facial identification, while some of the survivors sustained burns and fractures. One hiker recalled that he had not noticed any warning that the volcano was going to erupt apart from encountering a group of monkeys screaming frantically as they reached the foot of the volcano upon their descent.
Several cities in West Sumatra such as Padang Panjang and Bukittinggi, as well as the regencies of Pasaman and West Pasaman received volcanic ash. The eruption lasted four minutes and registered 30mm as its maximum amplitude on a seismograph.
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 3km of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
Marapi is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Source: Al Jazeera
