According to reporting by Antara News, West Sumatra Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team has been able to identify 11 of the 23-hikers, who were reportedly killed in the Mount Marapi eruption, Head of the West Sumatra Police’s Medical and Health Center Senior Commissioner drg. Lisda Cancer stated on Tuesday evening (5/12/23.)
Speaking in Bukittinggi City, she said that almost all hikers who died or survived Sunday’s eruption suffered from burns. Bodies of the dead hikers were sent to Achmad Mochtar Public Hospital for identification process.
Antara News say that a joint team of 50-doctors were involved in identifying the bodies. They are deployed from several police precincts and hospitals in West Sumatra and the Riau Islands, as well as National Police headquarters in Jakarta, Cancer said.
Mount Marapi erupted on Sunday (3/12/23) at about 2.54 pm Western Indonesia Time (WIB). The eruption reportedly left 75-hikers trapped on the slopes of the volcano and according to Cancer, the number of hikers who survived the eruption was recorded at 52, while 23 others have been killed.
Located between the administrative areas of the districts of Agam and Tanah Datar in West Sumatra Province, Mount Marapi is classified as one of the most active volcanoes on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, say Antara News.
Residents of Karo District in North Sumatra Province have also reported recurring eruptions at Mount Sinabung since 2013.
Antara News say that after Mount 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.
Source: Antara News
Stock photo of Mount Sinabung by Yosh Ginsu on Unsplash