Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- The 15 victims simply couldn't outrun the searing debris that billowed out of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung.
Plumes of ash had spewed
more than a mile into the sky Saturday and descended in superheated
clouds. Scalding ash up to 700 degrees in temperature raced down the
slope in just two to three minutes.
By the end of several
eruptions, at least 15 people had been killed, a government official
told CNN. It was the first time Mount Sinabung's volcanic output had
resulted in deaths, the Jakarta Post reported.
On Sunday, the sky above
the North Sumatra mountain was still the color of murky gray ash, as
shown on video from the Indonesia Geologic Agency.
Indonesia volcano erupts
The victims, and at least
three other injured people, were all found in Sukameriah, a village
close to the volcano's crater, disaster mitigation agency spokesman
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told CNN.
Local search-and-rescue teams were scheduled to go on a recovery operation Sunday, he said.
Eruptions at Mount
Sinabung are becoming common. After about 400 years of minimal volcanic
activity there, Sinabung erupted in 2010. It has been emitting gas since
September.
The English-language Jakarta Post said while 31 people previously had died from eruption-related illnesses such as asthma and hypertension.
The unpredictable
volcanic volatility has meant an itinerant existence for those who live
in this region a 2½ hour flight from Jakarta. Last month, intensifying volcanic activity forced 22,000 people into temporary camps, but more than half were allowed to return home on Friday.
Photos: Recently active volcanos
The newest volcanic activity has forced people to evacuate 16 villages, the Jakarta Post reported. At
least 30,000 people have been temporarily housed at 42 evacuation
centers, according to Billy Sumuan, the emergency response director in
Indonesia for the humanitarian group World Vision.
Saturday's victims lived
within a 3-kilometer radius of the volcano. Some were there checking on
their homes or were there just to watch the eruptions, Nugroho said.
Others were students and volunteers in the region to help its
beleaguered people, Sumuan said.
The government had
issued the highest level of alert for the latest eruptions, and Sumuan
noted that no one was supposed to go inside a 5-kilometer zone around
the volcano.
Several government
agencies and nongovernmental humanitarian groups were on the scene
Sunday helping those affected, including World Vision, which Sumuan said
was helping children with their trauma and hygiene. The government and
local churches handed out masks to everyone to mitigate breathing
problems, he said
source:cnn
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