BATU PALANO, Indonesia, Dec 5, (AP): Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano found 11 more bodies of climbers who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption, raising the number of confirmed dead to 22, officials said Tuesday. One person remained missing.
More than 50 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption Sunday, and 11 others were initially confirmed dead. New eruptions on Monday and Tuesday spewed more hot ash as high as 800 meters (2,620 feet) into the air, reducing visibility and temporarily halting search and recovery operations, said Abdul Malik, chief of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency.
The bodies of two climbers were located on Monday and nine more on Tuesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said.
One climber remained missing and was presumed dead because of being very close to the eruption site, said Edi Mardianto, the deputy police chief in West Sumatra province.
The recovered bodies will be taken to a hospital for identification, he said.
The rescuers contended with bad weather and difficult terrain, along with winds that brought heat from the eruptions.
A video released by West Sumatra’s Search and Rescue Agency showed rescuers carrying an injured climber on a stretcher off the mountain and into a waiting ambulance to be taken to a hospital.