Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupted on Sunday, sending tons of ash into the sky as high as 3,000 meters and resulting in the death of scores of people across the region.
The country's disaster management agency BNPB said that the 2,891-meter-high volcano erupted at around 2:54 p.m. local time. It released volcanic ash at high intensity to nearby districts. Photographs released by the BNPB showed vehicles and roads being covered with the white powdery residue.
Indonesia's Marapi Volcanic Eruption
Officials have been forced to prohibit residents and visitors from carrying out any activities within three kilometers of the crater. They have also set the second-highest alert level for Marapi Mountain to notify people of the dangers that the area poses.
In a statement, an official at BPBD's local disaster management unit, Ade Setiawan said that they have already distributed masks to residents. They encourage people to wear facial coverings and stay within their houses to avoid potential threats to their health, as per CNN.
The volcanic eruption comes as the country sits on the Pacific's so-called "Ring of Fire" and has 127 active volcanoes. An official with Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center at the Marapi monitoring post, Ahmad Rifandi said that there were no immediate reports of casualties.
There are two routes for climbers that were closed following the volcanic eruption and villagers who were living on the slopes of the mountain were advised to stay roughly 1.8 miles from the mouth of the crater because of potential lava.
Roughly 70 climbers made their way up the nearly 9,480-foot mountain on Saturday and were reportedly left stranded. The acting head of North Sumatra's conservation agency, Dian Indriati said that so far, 28 have been successfully evacuated while the others were still waiting for rescue.
On social media, a video showed the climbers being evacuated to a shelter with their faces and hair smeared with volcanic dust and rain. In a statement, National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said that many villages were covered with falling ash that blocked out the sun, according to USA Today.
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Rescuing Stranded Climbers
Muhari noted that officials were closely monitoring the volcano after sensors picked up rising activity in the past few weeks. Since January, Marapi has been active following an eruption that caused multiple casualties.
While initial reports made no mention of casualties, authorities later discovered that the bodies of 11 climbers were found. A rescue official noted that three people were found alive on the volcano and at least 12 other climbers were still missing.
Rescue operations were temporarily delayed due to safety concerns due to a small eruption on Monday. A spokesperson for the search and rescue team, Jodi Haryawan said that it was too dangerous to continue given the situation.
The head of Padang Search and Rescue Agency, Abdul Malik said that there were 26 people who were not evacuated. Officials noted that among the rescued individuals, eight were taken to a hospital with burns and one had a broken limb, said The Guardian.
