Dua Korban Erupsi Semeru Teridentifikasi
Indonesia Volcano Eruption Death Toll Rises to 13
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
TIM pencarian dan penyelamatan [SAR] gabungan dikerahkan ke Lumajang untuk menemukan korban selamat letusan Gunung Semeru di desa-desa yang diselimuti abu cair pada Minggu, [5/12].
Sedikitnya 11 desa di Kabupaten Lumajang di Jawa Timur tertimbun abu vulkanik yang menenggelamkan rumah dan kendaraan, serta meninggalkan 900 pengungsi mencari perlindungan di masjid, sekolah dan balai desa.
"Jumlah korban tewas 13 orang, tim SAR menemukan lebih banyak mayat," kata Pelaksana Tugas [Plt] Kepala Pusat Data, Informasi dan Komunikasi Kebencanaan BNPB, Abdul Muhari kepada AFP.
"Dua dari korban telah diidentifikasi," katanya dalam sebuah pernyataan kemudian.
Terdapat 57 orang termasuk dua wanita hamil terluka dalam letusan itu, 41 di antaranya menderita luka bakar dan dirawat di rumah sakit, yang dirilis dalam siaran pers BNPB, seperti dikutip AFP yang dilansir MailOnline.
Presiden Joko Widodo pada Minggu meminta tindakan tanggap darurat untuk menemukan korban dan merawat yang terluka. Hal ini disampaikan Menteri Sekretariat Negara, Pratikno.
Sebanyak 10 orang yang terperangkap berhasil diselamatkan dari daerah sekitar Lumajang, menurut Muhari, karena penduduk desa dan tim penyelamat bekerja sepanjang malam untuk menemukan orang yang terjebak atau mengambil mayat.
Penyiar lokal melaporkan mereka yang diselamatkan adalah pekerja lokal di lokasi penambangan pasir.
Evakuasi dihentikan sementara pada hari Minggu karena awan abu panas, sehingga sulit melakukan operasi penyelamatan.
Ahli Vulkanologi, Surono mengatakan, ada resiko hujan lebat yang menyebabkan endapan abu membentuk sungai baru lahar panas.
RESCUERS in Indonesia raced to find survivors in villages blanketed by molten ash Sunday after the eruption of Mount Semeru killed at least 13 people and left dozens injured, officials said.
The eruption of the biggest mountain on the island of Java caught locals by surprise on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing and forcing hundreds of families into makeshift shelters.
At least 11 villages of Lumajang district in East Java were coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and vehicles, smothering livestock and leaving at least 900 evacuees seeking shelter in mosques, schools and village halls.
Dramatic footage showed Semeru pumping a mushroom of ash into the sky, looming over screaming residents of a nearby village as they fled.
"The death toll is now 13 people. Rescuers found more bodies," national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told AFP, without specifying the cause of death.
Two of the victims have been identified, he said in a later statement.
At least 57 people including two pregnant women were injured in the eruption, of whom 41 suffered burns and were hospitalised, the agency said in a press release.
President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered a rapid emergency response to find victims and treat the injured after the scale of the disaster became clear, said state secretary Pratikno, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.
As many as 10 trapped people were rescued from areas surrounding Lumajang, according to Muhari, as villagers and rescuers worked through the night to find anyone trapped or retrieve bodies.
Local broadcaster Kompas TV reported those rescued were local workers at a sand mining site.
Evacuations were temporarily suspended on Sunday due to hot ash clouds, Indonesia´s Metro TV reported, highlighting the difficulty of the rescue operation.
There is also a risk of heavy rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country´s top volcanologist Surono told the station.
Most of those burnt in the immediate aftermath misunderstood the size of the eruption and subsequent lava flow so had stayed in their villages, Lumajang Public Order Agency spokesman Adi Hendro told AFP.
"They did not have time to run away," he said.
- ´Still alive´ -
At least seven people remain missing after the eruption, Hendro said, including two who authorities believe are still alive.