Officials claimed that rescuers in Indonesia scrambled to find survivors in communities coated by molten ash after Mount Semeru erupted, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more.
On Saturday, the largest volcano on the island of Java erupted, causing thousands of people to escape and hundreds of families to seek refuge in improvised shelters.
At least 11 villages in East Java’s Lumajang region were blanketed in volcanic ash, burying homes and automobiles, suffocating cattle, and forcing at least 900 people to seek refuge in mosques, schools, and village halls.
Semeru pumped a mushroom of ash into the sky, hovering over terrified residents of a small town as they fled, according to dramatic footage.
According to Muhari, as many as ten trapped persons were rescued from the areas surrounding Lumajang as residents and rescuers worked through the night to locate anyone trapped or recover bodies.
Local workers at a sand mining site were saved, according to local broadcaster Kompas TV.
According to Indonesia’s Metro TV, evacuations were temporarily halted on Sunday owing to hot ash clouds, emphasizing the complexity of the rescue operation.
