JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities said Thursday they helped more than 170 climbers who were caught a day earlier by Mount Semeru’s sudden eruption to return to safety as the seismic activity of Java island’s highest volcano indicated that the eruption will continue.
About 178 people, including climbers, porters, guides, tourism officials and tourists, started their way up the the 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) mountain in the Lumajang district of East Java province Wednesday and became stranded at the Ranu Kumbolo camping area.
“They are safe and now being helped to return,” said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, told a video news conference.
Another official at the center, Hetty Triastuty, added that Ranu Kumbolo is a safe area located outside the main danger zone of 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater. The camping area is on the northern slope of the mountain, which is not in the path of the hot cloud flow that was observed moving south-southeast. However, the climbers may have been exposed to volcanic ash.
Mount Semeru in East Java province unleashed searing clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that traveled up to 13 kilometers (8 miles) down its slopes in succession from midday to dusk Wednesday, while a thick column of hot clouds rose 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) into the air, prompting scientists to raise the volcano’s alert to the highest level, Indonesia’s Geology Agency chief Muhammad Wafid said.
He said a series of pyroclastic density currents traveled down the mountain’s slopes and incandescent avalanches of volcanic material were visible descending through the Besuk Kobokan River valley on the southern flank.
“Mount Semeru’s seismicity activity indicated that the eruption continued at a high level with increasing numbers of signals indicating avalanches,” Wafid said.
