Indonesia Volcano Semeru erupted, 13 people were killed; Dash rescue force to free the trapped people
Lumajang, Indonesia:
The country’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said on Sunday that 10 people trapped after the eruption of Indonesia’s Semeru volcano had been evacuated to safety, as the death toll from the disaster rose. at least 13 people and dozens of people were injured.
Semeru, the highest mountain on the island of Java, on Saturday threw ash towers and hot clouds over nearby villages in East Java province and sent people fleeing in panic.
Authorities said the eruption severed a strategic bridge connecting two areas in nearby Lumajang district with the city of Malang, and damaged buildings.
In a press release, BNPB official Abdul Muhari said 13 people were killed in the eruption, two of which have been identified. Ninety-eight people were injured, including two pregnant women, and 902 people were evacuated, the statement said.
Thoriqul Haq, a local official in Lumajang, earlier said sand miners had been trapped around their work site.
The BNPB said at least 35 people were hospitalized, while the deputy director of Lumajang said 41 people suffered burns.
Semeru, more than 3,600 meters (12,000 feet) high, is one of nearly 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. It erupted in January, causing no casualties.
Indonesia lies between the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active area where different plates of the earth’s crust meet and generate a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Separately, a magnitude 6 earthquake struck north of Halmahera on Sunday, the Europe-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said. Halmahera is about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) northeast of Semeru.
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