At least 13 dead and missing after volcanic eruption in Java

Semeru volcano in eastern Indonesia’s most populous island erupted on Saturday, turning day and night amid a huge cloud of smoke in nearby villages.

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Jakarta – At least 13 people were killed in a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Java. And the authorities announced that 41 others suffered burns. Two people are still missing, and eight miners are trapped in a quarry, Lumagang District Vice President Indah Masdar said at a press conference on Saturday.

📽️ Video | Indonesia: At least 13 dead after volcanic eruption

Semeru volcano in eastern Indonesia’s most populous island erupted on Saturday, turning day and night amid a huge cloud of smoke in nearby villages. Local television stations showed videos of people fleeing screaming. Suhariyanto, head of national disaster control, said deploying rescuers was made more difficult by the thick mud and the collapse of a large bridge between two districts. “The mud is so thick that even four-wheel drive vehicles can barely cross,” he said.

“We are setting up emergency shelters in several places in Lumagang,” a spokesman for the authorities said. At least 300 families were seeking shelter there by Saturday evening, and a restricted area had been established within a five kilometer radius of the volcano.

The volcano with a height of about 3700 meters is the highest mountain in Java and is located in Bromo-Tengir-Semeru National Park. It has been increasingly active again since December 2020. The warning level of Semeru has remained unchanged at the second highest level since the outbreak a year ago. Until then, gray ash covered the villages and thousands of people fled.

Lumagang district chief Thorikul-ul-Haq said a boom had been heard from the volcano since Friday. “Now it’s dark in the villages,” he told the transmitter. compass tv.

Glowing lava flowed up to 800 meters from the edge of the crater, the National Civil Protection announced. Its spokesman, Abd al-Mahari, said more than 1,000 people could not return home at the moment. He also warned against approaching the river there because the mud currents from the volcano, which are called lahars, can cause flooding.

Indonesia is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. The island nation of about 275 million has nearly 128 active volcanoes. This year, Merapi in Java, Sinabung in Sumatra and Lutolu in Limbata have already erupted. (WHAT/AFP)