More Bodies Pulled from Ruined Villages around Merapi

More Bodies Pulled from Ruined Villages around Merapi

Kamis, 11 November 2010 | 07:47 WIB

AFP

A farmer gathers grass to feed livestock as Mount Merapi spews ash and dust in the background at Wonololo village in Magelang, central Java on November 10, 2010. Ash from the eruption of Indonesias most active volcano, which has killed more than 190 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more, caused more disruption to flights November 10.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's most active volcano jumped to 191 on Wednesday as more bodies were pulled from ruined villages, while ash continued to disrupt air traffic.

Mount Merapi, which means “Mountain of Fire“, has been spewing ash and heat clouds since late October, incinerating entire settlements and forcing 340,000 people to flee to makeshift camps.

 “The death toll from Merapi has reached 191,“ a disaster management official, who refused to give his name, said. He said the sharp increase in the death toll from 151 was probably due to rescuers recovering more bodies in the central Java area where the volcano is located.

Fast-flowing torrents of boiling hot gas and rock incinerated villages on Friday, killing people as they slept and leaving rescuers to pull bodies from ruined buildings. Government volcanologist Surono said Merapi had twice shot ash high into the air on Wednesday and the area was still unsafe.

“The intensity of the eruption has decreased but the volcano's activity is still high and it still emits heat clouds,“ Surono said.

“The volcano is still on alert status and it's not conducive for people to go home yet.“

Surono said data showed Merapi had belched more heat clouds at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday (2230 GMT Tuesday) which could reach up to four kilometers from the volcano's crater.

The government announced a 20-kilometer “danger zone“ from the top of the volcano on Friday, saying residents within the area should be evacuated.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Australia's Qantas canceled flights because of the the air in Jakarta was smoggy on Wednesday but there were no obvious signs of volcanic ash falling on the city. The Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines known as “ring of fire“ between the Pacific and Indian oceans.