Volcano Eruption in Indonesia; 11 Climbers Killed, 12 Missing

A rescue official in Indonesia announced that ahead of the resumption of search operations, which had been temporarily halted due to safety concerns, 11 climbers were killed and 12 climbers are missing following the eruption of Mount Marapi in West Sumatra. Judy Hariwan, spokesperson for the search and rescue team, said on Monday, December 20, that so far, three local climbers have been rescued from among the 75 people who were in the area during the eruption on Sunday, December 19. According to Reuters, she stated in a phone call that 49 climbers were evacuated from the area in the early hours of Monday, and many of them were treated for burns, emphasizing that: 'We continued the search for the 12 missing climbers until this evening and have no decision to halt operations.' She confirmed the difficulty of the rescue operation, stating that it took about four to six hours to recover one body from the volcano. The 2,891-meter-high Mount Marapi, one of the most active volcanoes in the Sumatra archipelago, erupted on Sunday, sending volcanic ash up to 3 kilometers into the sky. Recorded images of the eruption show that volcanic ash has spread widely in the sky, and roads are covered with ash. The deadliest eruption of this volcano occurred in 1979, when 60 people were killed. This volcano also erupted last year during the months of January and February. After the eruption, local authorities raised the alert level one notch higher and prohibited residents from going within three kilometers of the crater. A small eruption on Monday morning halted search and rescue operations for several hours. According to the volcanology agency, Indonesia is located on the so-called 'Ring of Fire' of the Pacific Ocean and has 127 active volcanoes.