TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A joint search and rescue team is still trying to evacuate 18 climbers who are still trapped on Mount Marapi. As the volcano continues to erupt, the rescue efforts have become quite difficult.

"The team is having problems because eruptions continue to occur in the crater of Mount Marapi, West Sumatra, today alone we counted six eruptions," Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Class-A SAR Office, said on Tuesday, December 5.

Met at the Marapi's hiking post on the Batu Palano trail, Abdul told Tempo that eight people had been evacuated on the first day of the search, and five of them did not make it. The three heavily injured survivors are now being treated at the Ahmad Muchtar Hospital, Bukittinggi City.

He added that the locals also found and evacuated two other dead victims. "The two victims were not among the eight people found by SAR," he said.

Eight more climbers who sadly also did not make it were found by the search and rescue team on Monday, December 4. Their bodies are now being evacuated.

There are still ten more climbers that have not been found. The rescue team believes they may be stuck around the crater, based on the discovery of two climbers by the community on Monday.

Mount Marapi erupted on December 3, sending ashes as high as 3,000 meters into the air. Seventy-five hikers climbed the volcano the day before.

As of Tuesday 14:00, Agam Regency and its surroundings continued to experience volcanic ash rain from 07:00 to 14:11.

Fachri Hamzah

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