Rescue efforts in eastern Java have resumed after the search for survivors was temporarily halted due to another eruption of volcano Semeru.
Nearly 30 people have been missing since Saturday’s eruption.
Residents near the volcano, the highest on Java, ran for cover in panic when it erupted on Saturday, releasing a large amount of ash. There were also streams of warm mud. The Indonesian authorities have counted at least 15 dead. As far as is known, about 70 people have suffered burns.
Several villages are covered under a thick layer of ash. Only the roofs of some houses are visible. More than 1,500 people have been displaced and placed in temporary shelters such as mosques and offices. The search for missing persons is complicated by the ashes and the collapse of a bridge between two places.
Rescuers had to temporarily stop their work because another small eruption from Semeru could pose a threat. They have to dig through the mud in the search for victims. In some places, thick plumes of smoke come off the ashes. The population is strongly advised to stay 5 kilometres away from the crater.
The more than 3600 meters high Semeru has erupted several times in the past year. Indonesia is located in the ‘ring of fire’, an area in the Pacific Ocean with almost 130 active volcanoes, where many earthquakes also occur.