Volcanic Eruption Kills At least 14 in Indonesia

At least fourteen people were killed and three injured in a disastrous volcanic eruption in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday. The incident took place one day after the locals living on the three mile danger zone on Mount Sinabung, returned to their homes on its slopes with the green signal from the authorities that the volcanic activity was decreasing.

Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra Province had been rumbling for months. Around thirty thousand residents had been evacuated from the volatile area for their safety since last November when the volcano resumed erupting. The 8530 foot high volcano blasted sending lava and rocks up to nearly three miles away according to news reports.  The clouds of ash impeded the search and rescue operations enveloping roads and farms around. The search will resume on Monday morning for more victims. The officials said the active volcano would erupt again and that the death toll was likely to rise.

The President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the zone on January 23 to reassure the evacuated residents and to discuss the reconstruction efforts. A local television journalist and four high-school students with their teacher, who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close, were among the dead, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Infoeditor