Search and rescue teams are trying to locate 12 hikers who were summiting Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano when it violently erupted on Sunday.
At least 11 hikers were killed by the eruption, officials have confirmed, with efforts still underway to retrieve their bodies from the mountain slopes.
Another three survivors were found injured, including with burns injuries, at the volcano’s crater.
In total, there were about 75 climbers on Marapi when it erupted. Of these, around 50 were evacuated immediately after the eruption, with West Sumatra’s Search and Rescue Agency declaring an operation to find the remaining 26.
When it erupted, Marapi spewed ash as high as 3km into the sky and rained volcanic debris onto nearby villages.
Videos on social media showed the climbers being evacuated to a shelter, their faces and hair smeared with volcanic dust and rain.
Authorities over the weekend raised the alert to the second-highest level, shut down two climbing routes and prohibiting locals living on the slopes of Marapi from going within 3km of the crater due to potential lava flows.