Sudden Semeru volcano eruption kills at least 22 and injures 70 as rescuers are still searching villages blanketed in molten ash for survivors

The death toll from a sudden, spectacular eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Semeru has risen to 22, disaster officials said Sunday, as rescuers searched villages blanketed in molten ash for survivors.

At least 27 local residents were reported missing after the volcano spewed ash on December 4.

The eruption of Java’s biggest mountain caught locals by surprise on Saturday, 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 at least 900 evacuees seeking cover in mosques, schools and village halls.

Dramatic footage showed Semeru pumping a mushroom of ash into the sky, looming over screaming residents of a nearby village trying to escape.

At least 13 dead and 57 injured

“The death toll is now 13 people. Rescuers found more bodies,” said national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari.

#Indonesia volcano death toll rises to 13

Disaster officials in Indonesia raised the death toll in the #eruption of Mount #Semeru to 13 on Sunday, as rescuers working through the night freed as many as 10 people from the debris pic.twitter.com/9GzTrwvfuW

— 香港商報 (@hkcd_HK) December 5, 2021

As many as 10 trapped people were rescued from the surrounding areas in Lumajang, East Java province, Muhari said. Local broadcaster Kompas TV reported those rescued were local workers at a sand mining site.

At least 57 people were injured in the eruption, of whom 41 suffered burns and were hospitalised, the BNPB said in a press release.

The eruption of Indonesia’s Semeru volcano killed at least 14 people and injured dozens on the island of Java as rescue teams searched for victims under layers of ash https://t.co/570pCUIR2J pic.twitter.com/LyglIYd2St

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 5, 2021

Post-apocalyptic scenery

Lava destroyed at least one bridge in Lumajang and prevented rescuers from immediately accessing the area and those trapped in shelters.

Massive Mount Semeru eruption
The mountain river is boiling
Another view of the eruption
Day turned into night in Java Indonesia…and it’s raining ash with water! pic.twitter.com/A4EAXXsKf1

— Lee Golden (@LeeGolden6) December 4, 2021

But emergency service footage from one village on Sunday showed a desolate scene, with roofs of houses protruding from the coat of mud that had destroyed them.

The rescue teams were using heavy loaders to remove debris, Muhari said.

Locals have been advised to not travel within five kilometres of Semeru’s crater, and the air around it is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups, he added.

Officials have sent aid to shelters, including food, tarpaulins, face masks, and body bags.

Indonesia and the Pacific Ring of Fire

Australia’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, which provides advice to the aviation industry, said the ash had dissipated around Semeru, according to satellite imagery.

Semeru’s alert status has remained at its second-highest level since its previous major eruption in December 2020, 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. [France24]

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