AFP

The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano rose to 34 on Tuesday, the national disaster agency said, as aid was rushed to the affected region.

The mountain on the island of Java had thundered to life on Saturday, ejecting volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud on villages as thousands of panicked people fled their homes.

The disaster swallowed entire homes and vehicles, blanketing villages such as Curah Kobokan in grey ash and leaving residents terrified of returning home.

“I’m traumatised, I asked my relatives if they were brave enough to go back to Curah Kobokan and they all said no, they’d rather sleep under a tree,” said Marzuki Suganda, a 30-year-old who works at a sand mine in the area.

“When the eruption happened, I really thought I was going to die here.”

Rescuers have been battling dangerous conditions since the deadly weekend eruption, searching for survivors and bodies in the volcanic debris, wrecked buildings and destroyed vehicles.

Search crews deployed dogs on Tuesday to aid the operation. 

“The latest update from the ground… (is) 34 people died, 17 are missing,” the disaster agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told AFP.

Almost 3,700 have been evacuated from the affected area, he added.

– Dangerous rescue operation –

Mt Semeru has remained active since Saturday, keeping emergency workers and area residents on edge.

There were three small eruptions on Tuesday, each spewing ash around a kilometre (3,300 ft) into the sky, authorities said.

The task for rescuers was made more difficult by the instability of the volcanic debris.

“What we are afraid of is the ground being cold outside but still hot inside,” said police officer Imam Mukson Rido. “If it’s hot inside, we must get away.”

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru’s crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said during a trip to the area Tuesday that the government will look into moving homes away because of the threat posed by the volcano.

“I hope after things calm down we can start both fixing infrastructures and think about the possibility of relocation from areas we believe to be dangerous,” he told Indonesia’s Metro TV.

“Earlier I got a report (that) there are around 2,000 houses that must be relocated.”

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano rose to 34 on Tuesday, the national disaster agency said, as aid was rushed to the affected region.

The biggest mountain on the island of Java on Saturday ejected a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and rained hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes.

The disaster left entire streets filled with mud and ash, swallowing homes and vehicles.

“The latest update from the ground… (is) 34 people died, 17 are missing,” the disaster agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told AFP.

Almost 3,700 have been evacuated from the affected area, he added.

Rescuers have been battling dangerous conditions since the deadly weekend eruption, searching for survivors and bodies in the volcanic debris, wrecked buildings and destroyed vehicles.

Search crews deployed dogs on Tuesday to aid the operation. 

Mt Semeru has remained active since Saturday, with small eruptions keeping emergency workers and area residents on edge.

There were three small eruptions on Tuesday, each spewing ash around a kilometre (3,300 ft) into the sky, authorities said.

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru’s crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

While travel stopped and the world locked down, in the dazzling blue waters of Thailand’s idyllic Phi Phi islands, a gentle renaissance was under way.

Mass tourism had brought the archipelago, immortalised in Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Beach”, to the brink of ecological catastrophe.

Now Thailand hopes to make Phi Phi the standard-bearer for a new, more sustainable model of tourism as the country reopens to visitors after the long covid shutdown.

Near a coral islet just a few kilometres from Maya Bay — the iconic cove surrounded by towering tree-clad cliffs that was home to the beach paradise of the DiCaprio film — marine biologist Kullawit Limchularat dives through eight metres of crystalline water and carefully releases a young bamboo shark.

His mission: to repopulate the reefs after years of damage caused by uncontrolled visitor numbers, a crisis that got so bad the authorities were forced to close Maya Bay itself in 2018.

Five small brownbanded bamboo sharks are set free, their striped bodies and long tails flickering through the water. 

But after being raised in captivity they are reluctant to swim out among the clown fish, barracudas and turtles.

“They need time to adapt. We waited until they reached 30 centimetres to maximise their chance of survival,” says Kullawit, who is working on the project with the Phuket Marine Biological Center.

“The aim is that once they are adults, they will stay and breed here to help repopulate the species.”

– Ecological disaster –

Before the pandemic, Phi Phi National Marine Park, with its white sandy beaches and coral reefs, attracted more than two million visitors a year.

Until it was closed, Maya Bay’s dazzling beauty and Hollywood fame drew up to 6,000 people a day to its narrow 250-metre long beach.

Inevitably, so many people arriving in noisy, polluting motorboats with so little control over numbers had a huge impact on the area’s delicate ecology.

“The coral cover has decreased by more than 60 percent in just over 10 years,” says Thon Thamrongnawasawat of Kasetsart University in Bangkok. 

As early as 2018, Thon raised the alarm and pushed the authorities to close part of the bay.

Then the pandemic hit and visitor numbers dwindled to virtually nil as Thailand imposed tough travel rules, putting the entire archipelago into a forced convalescence.

As a result, dozens of blacktip sharks, green turtles and hawksbill turtles have returned.

And whale sharks, the world’s largest fish and listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), have been spotted off the coast.

“Everything suggests that there is more reproduction, especially among sharks, which particularly appreciate calm waters,” says Thon.

As for the corals, “more than 40 percent of the fragments replanted in Maya Bay have survived, a very satisfactory figure obtained thanks to the absence of visitors”.

But recovery will be slow: at least two decades will be needed to restore the coral reef, Thon warns.

– New model – 

Phi Phi is slowly resuming tourism, still mostly local for now, but foreigners are returning as Thailand eases its draconian rules for visitors, and Maya Bay is due to reopen on January 1.

The government has said it wants to move on from Thailand’s history of hedonistic mass tourism, with Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn saying the focus would be on “high-end travellers, rather than a large number of visitors”.

On Phi Phi, national park chief Pramote Kaewnam insists the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.

Boats will no longer be allowed to moor near the beach and will instead drop tourists off at a jetty away from the cove. Tours will be limited to one hour, with a maximum of 300 people per tour. 

“Maya Bay used to bring in up to $60,000 a day, but this huge income cannot be compared to the natural resources we have lost,” Pramote said.

The number of visitors will be regulated on other key sites of the archipelago, while boats anchoring on reefs and tourists feeding fish face $150 fines.

Some of the first foreign visitors to return to the area are happy with the new more exclusive approach.

“We didn’t just come to dive in the turquoise water. We also want to help,” says Franck, a visitor who has just arrived from Paris.

“It would be fantastic if the island stayed this quiet.”

Local businesses face the challenge of adapting to the new model. For some, the change is welcome.

“We need the revenue from tourism, but we also need to educate them to be good tourists. We all understood that with the pandemic,” says Sirithon Thamrongnawasawat, Singha Estate Vice President for Sustainability and Development.

Singha Estate, which owns a 200-room hotel on the island and has built a marine centre dedicated to the archipelago’s ecosystem, is financing several projects, including the replanting of coral and the breeding of bamboo sharks and clown fish.

But the enthusiasm is not shared by all 2,500 inhabitants of the archipelago, many of whom have built livelihoods around tourism and hope to see visitors return soon.

Pailin Naowabutr has been plying the waters of the archipelago for seven years, ferrying tourists on his longtail boat.

“Before Covid, I was making $30 a day. Since then, I’ve had to do a lot of odd jobs for less than $10,” he told AFP.

He gazes wistfully across the sea towards Phuket, Phi Phi’s much larger neighbour which used to welcome millions of tourists.

“They will soon come back, everyone wants to visit Phi Phi,” he says.

But the Omicron Covid variant, which has led some countries to reintroduce travel restrictions, could ruin his hopes — and give the islands’ wildlife a little more time to recover.

Thousands of sea turtles laid their eggs on Nicaragua’s coast over the weekend under the watchful eye of the army, which protects the nests from possible predators — including humans.

The olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) migrate for long distances to spawn between July and January in the Pacific coast wildlife refuges of La Flor and Chacocente, areas where the endangered species is protected against predators that plunder its nests.

La Flor beach, in San Juan del Sur, is a tourist destination in southern Nicaragua. It is an ideal location for the olive ridley turtle to nest due to its tropical climate and warm waters, which encourage reproduction, according to environmentalists.

The turtle species, which as an adult measures a little more than half a meter (1.5 feet) long and weighs about 38 kilograms (84 pounds), can lay about 90 eggs in 24 hours. The incubation process takes 40 to 70 days.

Authorities at Nicaragua’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment estimate that for every 100 turtles that hatch, 90 enter the sea, but only three make it to adulthood.

The environmental authorities are implementing a sea turtle conservation plan in partnership with the army to prevent neighboring communities from raiding the nests.

The olive ridley, distinguished by its olive green color, is one of five turtle species that nest in Nicaragua, in addition to the green, hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles.

NASA announced Monday its 10 latest trainee astronauts, who include a firefighter turned Harvard professor, a former member of the national cycle team, and a pilot who led the first-ever all-woman F-22 formation in combat.

The 2021 class was whittled down from a field of more than 12,000 applicants and will now report for duty in January at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, where they will undergo two years of training.

“We’re going back to the Moon, and we’re continuing on to Mars — and so today we welcome 10 new explorers,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said at an event to welcome the recruits.

“Alone, each candidate has ‘the right stuff,’ but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum – out of many, one,” he added.

The 10 candidates, who range in age from 32 to 45, will learn how to operate and maintain the International Space Station, train for spacewalks, develop robotics skills, safely operate a T-38 training jet, and learn Russian to communicate with their counterparts.

After they graduate, they could be assigned to missions aboard the ISS or deeper into space, including NASA’s planned return to the Moon later this decade under the Artemis mission, which will include the first woman and person of color to set foot on lunar soil.

The field was open to US citizens who hold a master’s degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field — the first time such a requirement was added — and passed an online test. The master’s degree requirement could also be met by a medical degree or completion of a test pilot program.

– Childhood dreams –

“I first became interested in becoming an astronaut at a very, very early age,”  said Jessica Wittner, 38, a lieutenant commander in the US Navy who is a test pilot and aerospace engineer.

“I was that little girl in school who would play with rockets in the park by the house and loved science class.” 

Others include fighter pilot Nichole Ayers who has more than 200 combat hours and is one of a few women currently flying the F-22 jet. In 2019 Ayers led the first all-woman formation of the aircraft in combat.

Christopher Williams, 38, is an assistant professor of medical physics at Harvard University.

“I was splitting my time between helping to research better ways we can target radiation therapy for cancer, and then actually working as part of a multidisciplinary team to treat patients,” said Williams, who holds a doctorate in astrophysics from MIT and has served as a volunteer emergency medical technician and firefighter.

Anil Menon, 45, is a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force who was previously SpaceX’s first flight surgeon before an earlier stint at NASA.

A physician born to parents from India and Ukraine, he was a first responder during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and the 2011 Reno Air Show accident.

Christina Birch, 35, holds degrees in mathematics and biochemistry and molecular biophysics, as well as a doctorate in biological engineering from MIT. 

She left a career in academia to race as a track cyclist on the US team, qualifying for the Olympics and winning World Cup medals in the team pursuit and Madison race.

NASA’s last class graduated in 2017. Two of its members, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, are currently serving aboard the ISS. 

Rising sea temperatures and overfishing threaten coral reefs in the western Indian Ocean with complete collapse in the next 50 years, according to a groundbreaking study of these marine ecosystems.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Sustainability on Monday, warned that reefs along the eastern coast of Africa and island nations like Mauritius and Seychelles faced a high risk of extinction unless urgent action was taken.

For the first time, researchers were able to assess the vulnerability of individual reefs across the vast western reaches of the Indian Ocean, and identify the main threats to coral health.

They found that all reefs in this region faced “complete ecosystem collapse and irreversible damage” within decades, and that ocean warming meant some coral habitats were already critically endangered.

“The findings are quite serious. These reefs are vulnerable to collapse,” lead author David Obura, founding director at CORDIO East Africa, a Kenya-based oceans research institute, told AFP.

“There’s nowhere in the region where the reefs are in full health. They’ve all declined somewhat, and that will continue.”

The study, co-authored with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, assessed 11,919 square kilometres of reef, representing about five percent of the global total.

Reefs fringing picturesque island nations like Mauritius, Seychelles, the Comoros and Madagascar — popular ecotourism destinations heavily reliant on their marine environment — were most at risk, researchers said.

– ‘Double whammy’ –

Coral reefs cover only a tiny fraction — 0.2 percent — of the ocean floor, but they are home to at least a quarter of all marine animals and plants.

Besides anchoring marine ecosystems, they also provide protein, jobs and protection from storms and shoreline erosion for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Obura said healthy reefs were “very valuable” and their loss would prove “a double whammy”.

“For biodiversity, but also all sorts of coastal economies that depend on reefs,” he said.

Climate change posed the biggest threat to coral health overall in the western Indian Ocean, where scientists say seawater temperatures are warming faster than in other parts of the globe.

Oceans absorb more than 90 percent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, shielding land surfaces but generating huge, long-lasting marine heatwaves that are pushing many species of corals past their limits of tolerance.

But along the east coast of continental Africa from Kenya to South Africa, pressure from overfishing was also identified in this latest study as another major scourge on reef ecosystems.

This underscored the need to urgently address both global threats to coral reefs from climate change, and local ones such as overfishing, Obura said.

“We need to give these reefs the best chance. In order to do that, we have to reduce the drivers, reverse the pressure on reefs,” he said.

In October, the largest ever global survey of coral health revealed that dynamite fishing, pollution but mainly global warming had wiped out 14 percent of the world’s coral reefs from 2009 to 2018.

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru spewed more ash on Monday, hampering the search for survivors as the death toll rose to 22 following the volcano’s deadly weekend eruption.

The biggest mountain on the island of Java thundered to life Saturday, ejecting a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes.

Aerial photos showed entire streets filled with grey volcanic ash and mud, which had swallowed many homes and vehicles, including whole trucks.

Indonesia’s national disaster agency said the number killed rose to 22 on Monday night and 27 people were still missing.

“I’m still hoping my son will be found… Every time I hear victims have been found, I hope it is my son,” said Maskur Suhri of Sumberwuluh village, who was collecting palm tree sap when Semeru erupted.

“There’s a very small chance he survived… Maybe it’s my son’s fate, but I still hope he will be found, even just his body.”

Fresh volcanic activity on Monday hampered search efforts, forcing rescue teams to pull out from some areas.

“There was a small fresh eruption and it could endanger the evacuation teams,” said rescue worker Rizal Purnama.

Dangerous thick plumes of smoke continued to emerge from areas blanketed by the volcanic ash, while rescuers in hardhats tried to dig through the mud to try and find survivors — and recover bodies.

Their task was made more difficult as the volcanic debris had started to harden.

“It’s very difficult… with simple tools,” Rizal Purnama said. “It is very likely bodies that have not been found are buried under the hot mudflow.”

Other rescuers helped desperate villagers salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some locals lifted mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats in their arms.

– ‘I could only pray’ –

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru’s crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Ash from Semeru travelled up to four kilometres away after the Saturday eruption, Indonesia’s geological agency reported.

A sand mine company’s office in Kampung Renteng village was buried after the eruption, trapping 15 people, according to foreman Hasim, 65, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

“There’s no news from them. Only one operator was rescued, he’s now at the hospital with burns,” he told AFP.

Hasim said he ran home after the eruption.

“It was pitch dark,” he added. “It was only 3 pm but it looked like night.”

Rescue officials said some were buried inside their vehicles, with no time to escape.

Those who managed to find shelter recounted the horror after the eruption.

Suwarti Ningsi and her daughter were trapped for five hours at home after the eruption.

“I couldn’t see anything, it was just like at night. Everybody was panicking,” said the 42-year-old.

“I could only pray… for me and my daughter to be saved.”

The Red Cross said it had rushed ambulances, medical teams, more than 65,000 surgical masks — to protect against ash and Covid — and other emergency supplies to the affected areas.

– Threat of rain –

The ash and mud have also polluted the waterways around Mt Semeru, turning them into streams of dark grey sludge.

Rain is forecast for the area, which could further hinder rescue work.

There is also a risk of the rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country’s top volcanologist Surono told a local TV station.

Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and wrecked villages.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, an eruption in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands caused an underwater landslide and tsunami that killed more than 400 people.

Nepal started counting endangered Royal Bengal tigers in its vast forested southern plains, officials said Monday, as conservationists help the big cats claw their way back from near extinction.

Deforestation, habitat encroachment and poaching have devastated tiger populations across Asia, but Nepal and 12 other countries signed a pledge in 2010 to double their numbers by next year.

Technicians on Sunday began installing cameras in Chitwan National Park, the country’s biggest tiger conservation area, with wildlife experts to identify individual animals by their unique stripes.

Nearly 4,000 motion-sensitive cameras will eventually be set up across more than 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 square miles) of protected areas and adjoining forests.

“The survey is aimed at getting information on the status of tigers which will help us to assess whether our strategies on safeguarding the tiger population have worked,” Bed Kumar Dhakal of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Department told AFP. 

The 2010 Tiger Conservation Plan signed by Nepal is backed by celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio.

The world’s wild tiger population rose to 3,890 in 2016, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Global Tiger Forum. 

It was the first increase in more than a century and up from an all-time low of 3,200 at the start of that decade. 

Nepal had 235 tigers in 2018, according to a survey, up nearly double from nine years earlier.

The results of the census are expected in July.  

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru spewed more ash on Monday, hampering the search for survivors as aerial images showed the extent of the devastation unleashed by the volcano’s deadly weekend eruption.

The biggest mountain on the island of Java thundered to life Saturday, ejecting a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes. At least 15 were killed.

Aerial photos showed entire streets filled with grey volcanic ash and mud, which had swallowed many homes and vehicles, including whole trucks.

Indonesia’s national disaster agency said 27 people were still missing.

“I’m still hoping my son will be found… Every time I hear victims have been found, I hope it is my son,” said Maskur Suhri of Sumberwuluh village, who was collecting palm tree sap when Semeru erupted.

“There’s a very small chance he survived… Maybe it’s my son’s fate, but I still hope he will be found, even just his body.”

Fresh volcanic activity on Monday hampered search efforts, forcing rescue teams to pull out from some areas.

“There was a small fresh eruption and it could endanger the evacuation teams,” said rescue worker Rizal Purnama.

Dangerous thick plumes of smoke continued to emerge from areas blanketed by the volcanic ash, while rescuers in hardhats tried to dig through the mud to try and find survivors — and recover bodies.

Their task was made more difficult as the volcanic debris had started to harden.

“It’s very difficult… with simple tools,” Rizal Purnama said. “It is very likely bodies that have not been found are buried under the hot mudflow.”

Other rescuers helped desperate villagers salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some locals lifted mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats in their arms.

– ‘I could only pray’ –

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru’s crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Ash from Semeru travelled up to four kilometres away after the Saturday eruption, Indonesia’s geological agency reported.

A sand mine company’s office in Kampung Renteng village was buried after the eruption, trapping 15 people, according to foreman Hasim, 65, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

“There’s no news from them. Only one operator was rescued, he’s now at the hospital with burns,” he told AFP.

Hasim said he ran home after the eruption.

“It was pitch dark,” he added. “It was only 3 pm but it looked like night.”

Rescue officials said some were buried inside their vehicles, with no time to escape.

Those who managed to find shelter recounted the horror after the eruption.

Suwarti Ningsi and her daughter were trapped for five hours at home after the eruption.

“I couldn’t see anything, it was just like at night. Everybody was panicking,” said the 42-year-old.

“I could only pray… for me and my daughter to be saved.”

The Red Cross said it had rushed ambulances, medical teams, more than 65,000 surgical masks — to protect against ash and Covid — and other emergency supplies to the affected areas.

– Threat of rain –

The ash and mud have also polluted the waterways around Mt Semeru, turning them into streams of dark grey sludge.

Rain is forecast for the area, which could further hinder rescue work.

There is also a risk of the rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country’s top volcanologist Surono told a local TV station.

Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and wrecked villages.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, an eruption in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands caused an underwater landslide and tsunami that killed more than 400 people.

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru spewed more ash on Monday, hampering the search for survivors as aerial images showed the extent of the devastation unleashed by the volcano’s deadly weekend eruption.

The biggest mountain on the island of Java thundered to life Saturday, ejecting a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes. At least 15 were killed.

Aerial photos showed entire streets filled with grey volcanic ash and mud, which had swallowed many homes and vehicles, including whole trucks.

Indonesia’s national disaster agency said 27 people were still missing.

“I’m still hoping my son will be found… Every time I hear victims have been found, I hope it is my son,” said Maskur Suhri of Sumberwuluh village, who was collecting palm tree sap when Semeru erupted.

“There’s a very small chance he survived… Maybe it’s my son’s fate, but I still hope he will be found, even just his body.”

Fresh volcanic activity on Monday hampered search efforts, forcing rescue teams to pull out from some areas.

“There was a small fresh eruption and it could endanger the evacuation teams,” said rescue worker Rizal Purnama.

Dangerous thick plumes of smoke continued to emerge from areas blanketed by the volcanic ash, while rescuers in hardhats tried to dig through the mud to try and find survivors — and recover bodies.

Their task was made more difficult as the volcanic debris had started to harden.

“It’s very difficult… with simple tools,” Rizal Purnama said. “It is very likely bodies that have not been found are buried under the hot mudflow.”

Other rescuers helped desperate villagers salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some locals lifted mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats in their arms.

– ‘I could only pray’ –

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru’s crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Ash from Semeru travelled up to four kilometres away after the Saturday eruption, Indonesia’s geological agency reported.

A sand mine company’s office in Kampung Renteng village was buried after the eruption, trapping 15 people, according to foreman Hasim, 65, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

“There’s no news from them. Only one operator was rescued, he’s now at the hospital with burns,” he told AFP.

Hasim said he ran home after the eruption.

“It was pitch dark,” he added. “It was only 3 pm but it looked like night.”

Rescue officials said some were buried inside their vehicles, with no time to escape.

Those who managed to find shelter recounted the horror after the eruption.

Suwarti Ningsi and her daughter were trapped for five hours at home after the eruption.

“I couldn’t see anything, it was just like at night. Everybody was panicking,” said the 42-year-old. 

“I could only pray… for me and my daughter to be saved.”

– Threat of rain –

The ash and mud have also polluted the waterways around Mt Semeru, turning them into streams of dark grey sludge.

Rain is forecast for the area, which could further hinder rescue work.

There is also a risk of the rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country’s top volcanologist Surono told a local TV station.

Mt Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and wrecked villages.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, an eruption in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands caused an underwater landslide and tsunami that killed more than 400 people.