Rescue Operations Suspended After Indonesia Volcano Erupts Again (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Indonesia’s Mount Semeru has spewed more ash, forcing rescuers to suspend the search for survivors as aerial images showed the extent of the devastation unleashed by the volcano’s deadly weekend eruption.
The biggest mountain on the island of Java thundered to life on Saturday, ejecting a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes.
At least 15 people have died and 27 others are missing, according to the Command Post for Emergency Response of Mount Semeru. More than 1,700 people had been evacuated across 19 makeshift centers, the group said in a statement.
Nearly 3,000 houses and 38 schools have been damaged by the debris, the statement said. The eruption also destroyed a bridge that connects Lumajang with the neighboring Malang district, blocking access from the main road and hampering rescue efforts, it added.
Aerial photos showed entire streets filled with grey volcanic ash and mud, which had swallowed many homes and vehicles, including whole trucks.
According to Aljazeera, rescue operations were suspended because of fresh volcanic activity on Monday.
“All evacuation teams have been pulled out… temporarily because there was a small fresh eruption and it could endanger the evacuation teams,” said rescue worker Rizal Purnama.
“The search will continue today once the situation is a bit safer.”
Dozens of people remain missing, he added.
In the village of Sumberwuluh, where 16 houses were buried under ash, residents raced to evacuate their livestock on trucks Sunday. Roofs of several of the village's houses had caved in, leaving bricks and metal rods exposed.
Aftershocks from the eruption were also felt among some residents of Kobokan and Kanjar villages late Sunday. They were later evacuated to a shelter in a nearby district.
The Indonesian government said it was preparing a relocation process for villagers who lost their home in the eruption. The BNPB said it will provide them with financial aid before the government can relocate them.
Indonesia sits between two continental plates on what is known as the Ring of Fire, a band around the basin of the Pacific Ocean that leads to high levels of tectonic and volcanic activity.
In January, Mount Merapi on Java Island erupted, shooting up a cloud of ash that led authorities to warn of the risk of lava reaching roads. The volcano violently erupted in 2010, killing more than 350 people.
