The toll of the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Semeru, the highest peak on the island of Java, rose to 39 dead, authorities said on Wednesday (December 8th), as relief efforts continued their efforts to find other bodies , under the threat of further eruptions.
Read also Volcanic eruption in the Canaries: a tragedy that fascinates and attracts
"
The search and rescue team recovered four other bodies today,
" the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency said. An injured person also died in hospital, bringing the death toll in the rash to 39. Twelve people are still missing, said a spokesperson for the organization.
The Semeru, which rises to 3,676 meters, erupted on Saturday, throwing ash clouds into the sky and submerging villages under hot mudslides, scaring thousands of distraught residents away.
More than 4,000 residents, whose villages were covered with thick layers of gray ash, had to be evacuated and take refuge in temporary shelters.
Evacuees complained of coughs, chest infections and diarrhea, according to medical personnel working in shelters in Lumajang district.
A risk of "secondary eruptions"
Sutimah, 45, who has taken refuge in a shelter, reports that her husband narrowly escaped a mudslide.
“
My husband worked in the mine.
If he had started running a few seconds later, he would have died.
Her colleague, a truck driver, was swept away,
”she told AFP.
Rescuers work in dangerous conditions to search for bodies buried in mud and rubble.
Read also Should we fear an explosion of volcanic activity?
The head of the Indonesian vulcanology agency warned of the risk of "
secondary eruptions
" and recommended that the population keep their distance.
Indonesia, which has more than 130 active volcanoes, is located on the
Pacific
"
ring of fire
" where the meeting of the continental plates causes high seismic activity.
