TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sunday’s explosive eruption of Mount Marapi resulted in deaths and injuries. Evacuation efforts are still underway albeit the active volcano in West Sumatra continues to erupt.

According to Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Class-A SAR Office, six hikers trapped in Marapi have been evacuated, eight others are still being evacuated, and twelve others have not yet been found.

Three of the six evacuated hikers were declared dead, while the other three were in critical condition. Abdul said the West Sumatra Police were still trying to determine their identities. “The hikers have been admitted to Ahmad Muchtar Hospital in Bukittinggi City,” he added.

To date, 55 of the 75 hikers listed on the West Sumatra Natural Resources Agency (BKSDA) website have been successfully evacuated. The evacuation is still ongoing, even though the eruption continues every 15 minutes.

The joint SAR team is still trying to evacuate 18 hikers who are still trapped after the eruption. “The team is having problems as eruptions continue to occur in the crater of Mount Marapi, West Sumatra, we counted six eruptions today alone,” Abdul told Tempo when met at the Marapi's hiking post on the Batu Palano trail on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

There are still ten more hikers who have not been found. The joint SAR team believed that they might be stuck around the crater, based on the discovery of two hikers by the locals on Monday, Dec. 4.

Citing from the National Police’s website, West Sumatra Deputy Police Chief Brigadier General Edi Mardiyanto confirmed that 18 hikers were found dead in two locations after the eruption of Mount Marapi on Sunday.

M RAFI AZHARI | FACHRI HAMZAH | ZULFIKAR EPRIYADI

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