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| Officials say debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that has hampered evacuation efforts. People inspect their village which has been buried by volcanic ash (Photo by= Reuters) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] At least 13 people have now died and dozens more are injured after a volcano erupted on Indonesia's Java island on Saturday, emergency authorities said. Residents were filmed fleeing a giant ash cloud from Mt Semeru. Pictures show entire villages buried in volcanic ash up to rooftops, and locals have described thick smoke blocking the Sun, leaving them in pitch darkness.
Officials said at least 57 people have been injured, with many suffering severe burns.
A spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said that the injured were being treated at various hospitals and medical facilities. The eruption has left at least 11 villages in the Lumajang district coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and forcing some evacuees to seek shelter in mosques and makeshift shelters. The eruption started at about 14:30 local time (07:30 GMT). Local authorities have set up a restricted zone within 5km (3 miles) from the crater.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Darwin, Australia said the ash appeared to have detached from the summit and was drifting southwest over the Indian Ocean. Mt Semeru is in a near-permanent state of eruption and regularly spews ash up to about 4,300m, so Saturday's eruption was a "pretty significant increase in intensity", Mr Biggs said.
