"According to the latest report, 29 hikers come from Riau Province. Three of them died owing to the eruption," Head of the Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency's Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Department Rozita S.M. stated.
Speaking in Bukittinggi City, West Sumatra Province, on Tuesday (Dec. 5) evening, Rozita said that all hikers who survived and died of the volcano's eruption had been evacuated.
The bodies of Riau's hikers, who died in the disaster, had been sent home for burial after the West Sumatra Police's Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team members could have identified them, Rozita revealed.
Three Riau hikers, who survived the eruption, remain hospitalized at Achmad Mochtar Public Hospital in Bukittinggi City, Rozita said, adding that the hikers are mostly students of Riau University and Riau Islamic University.
Meanwhile, the West Sumatra Police reported earlier that as of Tuesday at 8:22 p.m. local time, its Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team could have identified 11 of the 23 hikers killed in the eruption.
According to Head of the West Sumatra Police's Medical and Health Center Senior Commissioner drg. Lisda Cancer, almost all hikers who died or survived the eruption suffered from burns.
Bodies of the dead hikers were sent to Achmad Mochtar Public Hospital for identification. A joint team of 50 doctors got involved in identifying the bodies, Cancer remarked.
Mount Marapi erupted on Sunday at about 2:54 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB). Cancer said the number of hikers who survived the eruption was recorded at 52, while 23 others got killed.
Located between the administrative areas of Agam and Tanah Datar districts in West Sumatra Province, Mount Marapi is classified as one of the most active volcanoes on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Residents of Karo District in North Sumatra Province have also reported recurring eruptions at Mount Sinabung since 2013.
After Mt. Sinabung erupted on November 12, 2013, at least 5,962 people living near the volcano's foothills, most of whom were farmers, were evacuated to safer areas.
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Translator: M.Zulfikar, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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