Abdul Malik, head of the West Sumatra Search and Rescue Agency, said the bodies of 11 climbers had been found earlier in the day, but efforts to recover them had been hampered by new operations. He added that the search would resume when conditions improved.
A video released by the agency shows rescue workers evacuating an injured climber on a stretcher from the mountain and placing him in a waiting ambulance to take him to the hospital.
Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupts. Photo: AP
Hendra Gunawan, head of the country's Volcanology Center, said the volcano has been at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011. This level indicates above-normal volcanic activity, and climbers and villagers are prohibited from approaching within 3 kilometers of the summit.
Gunawan said, "This means that climbing to the summit is not allowed, but sometimes many of them have broken the rules to satisfy their desire to climb further."
Approximately 75 climbers began their ascent of the nearly 2,900-meter-high mountain on Saturday and became trapped. Authorities have rescued 52 people, including three on Monday. Hari Agustian, an official with the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, said eight of those rescued on Sunday were taken to hospital with burns and one with broken limbs.
Agustian said all climbers had registered at two command posts or signed up online through the West Sumatra conservation authority before continuing their climb. When asked about the total number of people who might be trapped, he said this could not be confirmed as some may have taken illegal routes up the mountain and there may also be local residents.
Marapi spewed thick columns of ash up to 3,000 meters high during Sunday's eruption, and hot ash clouds spread for several kilometers. Nearby villages and towns were covered in tons of volcanic ash.
Ash covered several villages and blocked sunlight, prompting authorities to distribute face masks and urge residents to wear sunglasses to protect themselves from volcanic ash.
Approximately 1,400 people live on the slopes of Mount Marapi in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, with the nearest villages located about 5 to 6 kilometers from the summit.
Gunawan said Marapi has been erupting regularly since 2004, with intervals of 2 to 4 years. He said, “Marapi’s eruptions are always sudden and difficult to detect with equipment because the source is close to the surface. This eruption was not caused by the movement of magma.”
Marapi is one of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which are vulnerable to seismic activity due to their location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean basin.
Mai Anh (according to CNA)
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