11 People Dead after Mount Sinabung Spews Hot Debris

Medan, N Sumatra (Antara) - Eleven people were reported to have died in Karo district after Mount Sinabung erupted, spewing super-heated debris here on Saturday, spokesman to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BMKG) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. "We have identified four of the 11 victims. Most were visiting the abandoned Sukameriah village when Mount Sinabung erupted and spewed hot debris towards them," Sutopo said, adding that the village was only 3 kilometers from Mount Sinabung's crater. Local authorities had earlier evacuated most of the villagers to safer locations. Sutopo said search and rescue teams had not recovered the remains of the victims due to predictions that Mount Sinabung would again erupt. He expressed his regret over the incident, noting that authorities had closed the area to the public. Earlier, the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) increased the alert status of Mount Sinabung from "aware" to "beware". According to the agency, people living in a radius of 5 kilometers of Mount Sinabung's crater were to be evacuated. (*)