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PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities have temporarily stopped the search for 12 climbers following a new eruption of Mount Marapi volcano, which sent a new burst of hot ash as high as 800 meters (2,620 feet) into the air, officials said.
Earlier in the day, the bodies of 11 climbers were found. The search for the missing climbers had to be put on hold due to the renewed volcanic activity, according to West Sumatra’s Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik. However, the search operation will resume once conditions improve, he added.
A video released by the agency depicted rescuers helping an injured climber off the mountain on a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance to be taken to the hospital.
Marapi had first erupted on Sunday, releasing clouds of hot ash.
The volcano has been at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011. This level denotes above-normal volcanic activity, and prohibits climbers and villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, according to Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
“This means that there should be no climbing to the peak,” Gunawan said, adding that climbers were only allowed below the danger zone, “but sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further.”
Around 75 climbers had started their way up the 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Authorities rescued 52, including three on Monday. Eight of those rescued on Sunday were taken to the hospital with burns and one suffered a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital.
Mount Marapi spews volcanic material in West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Dec. 4, 2023.
Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
All of the climbers had registered at two command posts or online through West Sumatra’s conservation agency before they proceeded with their climb, Agustian said. When asked about the total number of people who may be stranded, he said it couldn’t be confirmed because some may have taken illegal routes up the mountain and residents could have been also in the area.
Marapi spewed thick columns of ash as high as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) in Sunday’s eruption, and hot ash clouds spread for several miles. Nearby villages and towns were covered by tons of volcanic debris. Volcanic dust and rain smeared the faces and hair of evacuated climbers, according to a video on social media.
Falling ash blanketed several villages and blocked sunlight, and authorities distributed masks while urging residents to wear eyeglasses to protect them from volcanic ash.
About 1,400 people live on Marapi’s slopes in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, the nearest villages about 5 to 6 kilometers (3.1 to 3.7 miles) from the peak.
Gunawan said that Sunday’s eruption was not preceded by a significant increase in volcanic earthquakes. Deep volcanic earthquakes were only recorded three times between Nov.