As we reported earlier this week, 11 people were confirmed dead and another 12 went missing after the Marapi volcano erupted in Sumatra last Sunday.
A village in the shadow of Marapi’s eruption. Photo: Screenshot/Euronews
Today, local officials broke the bad news that 11 of those 12 missing people have been found dead. With this, the death toll rises to 22. There is not much hope to find the remaining person alive because he was near the site of the eruption when he disappeared.
Right after the eruption that surprised 75 hikers, 49 people were evacuated, many of them injured. Out of the remaining 26 people, the rescuers found 14 — three alive and 11 dead.
Another smaller eruption on Monday spewed a new burst of hot ash 800m high. It temporarily kept rescuers from looking for the 12 who were still missing.
The eruption from afar. Photo: Zoom Earth/X
A well-known threat
The Volcanological Survey of Indonesia has warned about Marapi’s danger since 2011. It advised hikers and locals not to approach within three kilometers of the turbulent volcano. But despite the warnings and the high alert level, many people continued to climb Marapi to catch a peek into the crater of an active volcano.
A quiet Marapi. Photo: Wikimedia
Mount Marapi is the most active volcano in Sumatra and its name means “Mountain of Fire.” Several cities and towns sprawl near it.
Predicting this volcano’s behavior is difficult because the source of its sudden eruptions is shallow and near its summit. They are not caused by the deep, subterranean movement of magma that shows up as volcanic earthquakes on seismic monitors.
