23 people dead in massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia

By Stefan J. Bos - Indonesia 

Authorities here say that the volcanic eruption on Indonesia's Mount Marapi caught dozens of climbers by surprise over the weekend.  The eruption killed 23 people. 

Dozens of climbers were near the danger zone when the initial eruption on Sunday spewed thick columns of ash as high as 9,800 feet (3,000 meters).

Rescuers say they saved more than 50 climbers after the volcano's first eruption and recovered 11 bodies. 

Following new eruptions on Monday and Tuesday, rescuers recovered the bodies of 11  others, and on Wednesday the last missing climber was found.

Mount Marapi, located in the Agan Regency and Tanah Datar Regency areas in West Sumatra province, has been active since a January eruption that caused no casualties. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. 

The world’s largest Muslim nation is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

75 climbers 

Scores of people were rescued from or near the mountain, including Zafirah Febrina. “Mum, I am still alive, but this is my condition now,” the young woman said, her face covered in mud. “Please help me,” she added in a video seen by Vatican News.

About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) Marapi mountain on Saturday. 

They now wished they never did.

Authorities say the volcano has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, indicating above-normal volcanic activity. 

That volcanic activity prohibited climbers and villagers within 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) of the peak. 

But Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said not everyone took these warnings seriously. In his words: “Sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfil their satisfaction to climb further,” adding to the death toll.