1 of 2 | At least 11 people died and 12 more were missing after Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano erupted on Sunday. Photo by Ali Nayaka/EPA-EFE
At least 11 people were killed and another 12 were missing in the West Sumatra province Monday after Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano erupted.
Emergency crews scrambled to evacuate 75 people, mostly climbers, from the mountain as the 9,500-foot-tall volcano spewed ash and smoke billowed out beginning Sunday. Advertisement
Abdul Malik, head of search-and-rescue teams in West Sumatra, said a team of 40 rescuers was on the mountain Monday amid continuing eruptions.
Marapi is one of the most active volcanoes on Sumatra Island and part of Indonesia’s portion of the so-called Ring of Fire, a stretch of territory around the Pacific Ocean where most of the globe’s volcanic activities take place. Indonesia alone has 127 active volcanoes.
Malik said three people were rescued near the crater of the volcano. He described those climbers as “weak” with “some burns.” He said of the 75 evacuated, 45 were removed from the mountain early Monday, many of whom also suffered burns.
“Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital,” said Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency. Advertisement
Local authorities raised its alert level to the second highest and barred all activities within two miles of Marapi’s crater.
