PADANG: Indonesia’s Marapi volcano has erupted in West Sumatra province covering nearby villages in hot ash and clouds, Western media reported on Monday.
The white-and-gray ash reached more than 3,000 meters high into the air. As per reports there were no immediate casualties.
An official affiliated with Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center at the Marapi, Ahmad Rifandi said the two routes for climbers have been closed after the eruption.
He added villagers living on the slopes of the mountain were advised to stay 3 kilometers away from the volcano’s mouth because of potential lava spill.
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Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang told media that about 70 mountaineers got stranded at the mountain, out of which 49 have been successfully evacuated while the rest still waiting for the rescue.
He said about 168 rescuers have been deployed to rescue all the climbers.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said several villages were covered with falling ash, blocking out the sunlight in many areas. He added that the authorities have also distributed masks among residents to protect them from volcanic ash.
Marapi has been active since January when it erupted without causing any damage or casualties. It is among the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone earthquakes. The country is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
