LUMAJANG – Rescuers in Indonesia raced to find survivors in villages blanketed by molten ash today after the eruption of Mount Semeru killed at least 14 people and left dozens injured.
The sudden eruption of Java’s biggest mountain caught locals by surprise yesterday, sending thousands fleeing its path of destruction and forcing hundreds of families into makeshift shelters.
It left at least 11 villages of Lumajang district coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses, smothering livestock, and leaving some evacuees seeking cover in mosques.
Dramatic footage showed Semeru pumping a mushroom of ash into the sky, looming over screaming residents of a nearby village trying to escape.
“The number of victims who died until now is 14 people,” national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told a press conference today.
Two of the victims have been identified, he said in an earlier statement.
At least 56 people including two pregnant women were injured in the eruption, health officials said, and most suffered serious burns.
President Joko Widodo today ordered a rapid emergency response to find victims after the scale of the disaster became clear, said state secretary Pratikno.
As many as 10 trapped people were rescued from areas surrounding Lumajang, Muhari said, as villagers and rescuers worked through the night to find anyone alive or retrieve bodies.
A volcano in Indonesia, Mount Semeru, erupted yesterday.
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) December 5, 2021
At least 300 families nearby were evacuated. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
?: Kampung Lumaja villagers pic.twitter.com/inne7Dnqlm
The agency has sent aid to shelters, including food, tarpaulins, face masks, and body bags, it said.
Semeru’s alert status has remained at its second-highest level since its previous major eruption in December last year, which also forced thousands to flee, and left villages covered.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.
In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide and tsunami which killed more than 400 people. – AFP, December 5, 2021
? | BREAKING: Mount Semeru in Indonesia has erupted sending ash ‘40,000ft into the sky’ pic.twitter.com/GRCrfYG0yG
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) December 4, 2021
