the eruption of the Marapi volcano leaves at least eleven dead, twelve hikers are still wanted

The eruption, which began on Sunday and is still ongoing, is preventing evacuations by helicopter.

The eruption of the Marapi volcano, in western Indonesia, left at least eleven dead, emergency services announced Monday, December 4, after a night of searching. Furthermore, the three wanted hikers were found alive near the crater. “There are 26 people who were not evacuated, we found 14, three were found alive and eleven were found dead”, said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang search and rescue agency. For their part, the hikers were found “in a weakened state, and some had burns”he added.

Twelve hikers are still missing, 49 have come down from the mountain and some have been transported to hospital, detailed Abdul Malik. However, the eruption, still in progress, prevents evacuations by helicopter. “Visually, until this morning, smoke is still escaping from the summit. Visually, everything still seems gray”, he added. Ade Setiawan, head of the local disaster agency, said in a statement that residents in surrounding villages had been given masks and reminded to stay inside their homes.

According to a list of people rescued from the national search and rescue agency Basarnas, consulted by AFP, at least eight people suffered burns. One person, in addition to burns, suffered a fracture while another survivor suffered a head injury.