VOA News | Monday, December 4, 2023 
11 Hikers Dead After Indonesia Volcano Erupts, Dozen Still Missing

Padang, Indonesia — Eleven hikers were found dead Monday and another 12 were missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, with rescuers racing to carry injured and burned survivors down the mountain on foot. Rescuers worked through the night to find dozens of hikers stranded on Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra after it spewed an ash tower 3,000 meters — taller than the volcano itself — into the sky on Sunday. The dead hikers were found near Marapi’s crater after the 2,891-meter volcano rained ash on nearby villages, according to a local rescue official. Twelve were missing, three more were found alive and 49 had safely descended from the crater, some with burns and fractures, the official said. “They are being carried down manually, rescuers are taking turns bringing them down. We can’t do an air search with a helicopter because the eruption is ongoing,” said local rescue agency chief Abdul Malik, who added about 120 rescuers were involved in the search. The three other people who had been found alive were yet to be taken down the mountain, along with the 11 dead. Those three survivors were found near the crater and…Read more