Eleven climbers have died, three have been found safe and twelve are missing after the eruption on Sunday of the Indonesian volcano Marapi, in the west of the island of Sumatra, as reported this Monday by the head of the rescue operation.
In total, said the head of the rescue team, Abdul Malik, in a hearing, 75 people have survived and 49 have already been evacuated after the volcano experienced a strong eruption on Sunday, which sent a column of ash and smoke to 3,000 people. meters above its crater. Of the evacuees, “some have returned to their homes and others have been admitted to two hospitals in the area,” Malik said.
For its part, the national disaster management agency indicated that it continues to monitor the volcano to carry out “quick actions and manage the evacuation of residents if there is new major volcanic activity.”
The eruption, which lasted 4 minutes and 41 seconds, occurred around 2:54 p.m. local time (07:54 GMT) on Sunday, as reported in a statement at the time by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
The volcano was at alert level 3 – the second highest in a range of 4 – since Friday, and the explosion on Sunday was captured by residents of nearby towns, who posted videos of the enormous column of smoke on social networks. that expelled the volcano, which caused a rain of ash in the area.
About 70 climbers had registered through an online reservation process at two entry points to begin climbing the volcano on Saturday, according to West Sumatra's natural resources conservation agency, although not all of them notify their arrival and departure. to the authorities.
The volcano, with a summit of 2,891 meters and whose name translates as “Mountain of Fire”, is the most active on the island of Sumatra.
Indonesia is home to more than 400 volcanoes, of which at least 129 remain active and 65 are classified as dangerous.
The Indonesian archipelago sits within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity, which is shaken by about 7,000 earthquakes a year, most of them of small magnitude.