Indonesia: Marapi volcano eruption claims 22 lives

The death toll resulting from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia has reached 22 after nine more bodies were discovered on Tuesday. On the island of Sumatra, Mount Marapi emitted a towering ash plume that rose to 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) on Sunday, surpassing the volcano’s own height. “Nine of 10 missing victims were found dead this afternoon and at the moment, they are being evacuated. There is one remaining victim currently in the search,” Abdul Malik, head of Padang Search and Rescue Agency told AFP. The deceased were carefully brought down from the mountain in bodybags over the course of several days, according to rescue officials. Images shared by Basarnas depicted a rescue team carrying a body down the volcano on Tuesday. Among the 75 hikers on the mountain during the eruption, some were found alive but suffered burns and fractures. Hendra Gunawan, head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, indicated that Marapi had been on the second level of a four-tier alert system since 2011, with a three-kilometer exclusion zone around its crater. Gunawan suggested that hikers might have ventured too close to the crater, noting the agency’s recommendation against human activities in that zone. Forensic workers are preparing to identify the deceased through dental and fingerprint records or other identifying marks. The search is expected to last seven days until all hikers are accounted for. With inputs from AFP