Rescuers on Tuesday found the bodies of more victims after a volcano erupted in western Indonesia, bringing the death toll to 23. The mountaineers who lost their lives were found near the crater of Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, which had spewed a 3,000-metre plume of smoke on Sunday.
The death toll had risen to 22 after two bodies were found earlier and nine more bodies hours later, said Abdul Malik, head of the Search and Rescue Agency in the city of Padang. "We are still looking for a victim," he added, before that last body was found.
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The volcano is still erupting," said Hendri, the agency's chief of operations, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.
Rescuers have also found people alive, who were evacuated from the mountain in a complex rescue device due to new eruptions and bad weather.
One of the survivors mentioned the panic he felt at the onset of the eruption. "I zigzagged, I went down about 30 or 40 meters" to a hiking post, Ridho, 22, said from a nearby hospital.
"The eruption made a lot of noise, I looked back and immediately ran out, like everyone else. Some jumped and fell. I took shelter behind some rocks, there were no trees there," he added.
About 75 climbers were trapped after starting their ascent on Saturday to the nearly 2,900-meter-high summit in the Agam district of West Sumatra province.
About 75 climbers were trapped after starting their ascent Saturday to the nearly 2,900-meter-high summit of the volcano in Indonesia. Photo: Basarnas/REUTERS
Some 52 were rescued after Sunday's initial eruption, and 11 others had been confirmed dead. Some of the survivors had burns or fractures.
The dead also had severe burns and forensic experts were preparing to identify them with dental records or fingerprints, or based on marks on the bodies, said Eka Purnamasari of the West Sumatra police medical unit.
The eruptions on Monday and Tuesday ejected new clouds of hot ash up to 800 meters (meters) high, reducing visibility and forcing a temporary suspension of search and recovery efforts, said Abdul Malik, director of the Padang City Search and Rescue Agency.
The volcano remains "very active"
The volcano is still active, according to Ahmad Rifandi, head of the Marapi monitoring post, who observed five eruptions between 00:00 and 08:00 (01:00 GMT).
"Marapi is still very active. We can't see the height of the column because it's covered by a cloud," he said.
For his part, the head of Indonesia's volcanological agency, Hendra Gunawan, said that since 2011 Marapi had been at level two (out of four) alert and that a three-kilometer exclusion zone was imposed around the crater.
He appeared to blame hikers for getting too close to the crater, insisting that the agency recommends against visiting the area and that the "severe impacts" to the victims occurred within a radius of 1 to 1.5 kilometers from the crater.
Authorities said the climbers signed up for an online service, but others had used illegal routes.
Relatives waited for news at an information center at the base of the mountain, where a mother fainted while waiting.
"I will stay here until I hear anything," said Dasman, father of missing hiker Zakir Habibi, after traveling two hours from Padang for information. "I still hope my son survives," she said Monday.
Search operations will continue for seven days or until all hikers are located, rescuers said.
Mount Marapi, which means Mountain of Fire, is the most active volcano on the island of Sumatra.
Indonesia registers frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the "Pacific Ring of Fire".
The archipelago has about 130 active volcanoes.
With information from agencies.
IS