Indonesia Semeru volcanic eruption kills 14; dozens injured

Liswanto said on Sunday his team recorded two pyroclastic flow events. The first was at 5 a.m. local and second one was at 10 a.m. local time. The deadly volcanic material was rolling down to Curah Kobokan village, which was evacuated on Saturday.

They have urged people living up to 6 miles away from the volcano to evacuate as pyroclastic flows “is very hot, the temperature can reach more than 1000 Celsius,” Liswanto said.

Since there is no sign or method to predict when the pyroclastic flow will occur, the phenomenon can be very dangerous, Liswanto said.

Ongoing evacuations

One rescue volunteer in Indonesia’s Lumajang district told CNN Sunday that he and his team evacuated the bodies of six miners from a river in Curah Kobokan village, where they were mining sand in the river bank.

Some of the miners were still inside their trucks, while others were discovered laying on the ground near the trucks, said 32-year-old volunteer Muhammad Firman Adiguna Effasa. It is unclear if those six deaths are part of the 14 deaths that authorities announced.

He added he was worried that more miners or other victims could be still out there but won’t survive because the lava flood was so intense.

Authorities have converted schools, mosques, village halls and village houses into evacuation centers, the statement said.

This handout picture taken and released on December 4, 2021 by Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) shows Semeru volcano spewing ash into the air during an eruption as seen from Lumajang. (Photo by Handout / BNPB / AFP)

Java is the largest population center in Indonesia’s massive island archipelago and home to the capital city of Jakarta. Standing at more than 12,000 feet high, Mount Semeru is the tallest mountain on Java.

A man inspects a truck buried in the ash following the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang district (CNN photo)