At least 13 dead due to Mount Semeru explosion in Indonesia
Jakarta, Dec 5 (EFE).- At least 13 people have lost their lives after Indonesia’s Semeru volcanic eruption triggered a hot ash avalanche that engulfed nearby residential areas in the East Java province the day before, officials said Sunday.
The National Disaster Management Agency said, in its latest update, that 41 people suffered burn injuries and were receiving treatment in hospitals.
On Sunday, rescuers searched for missing people and assisted hundreds of displaced.
Searchers rescued at least a dozen miners trapped after the eruption of the 3,676-meter high volcano, one of the most active in the country.
Several houses and vehicles suffered significant damages.
A bridge connecting the area collapsed partially.
The authorities said they were still assessing the material damage caused by the disaster.
The eruption occurred Saturday at 3.30 pm. Columns of ash-covered several villages on the mountain slope as villages, plunging the residential areas into darkness.
A social media video captured by witnesses shows residents of Lumajang fleeing in a hurry amid a massive cloud of smoke and ash from Semeru.
The Indonesian volcanology service placed the risk in the area at level 2 (out of a maximum of 4).
The authorities issued a flight alert in the region.
The Indonesian archipelago sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismic zone with 127 active volcanoes.
Thousands of tremors occurred every year, most of them of low magnitude. EFE
st-nc/ssk
