RAINING FIRE
Haunting footage shows people covered in choking volcanic ash as Mount Marapi erupts leaving 11 hikers dead & 12 missing
Climbers had been warned to not trek to the peak of the volcano
HIKERS caught off guard by a deadly volcano eruption were left covered in thick ash and burns.
Around 75 people were trekking up Mount Marapi when it started spewing boiling ash almost 10,000ft into the air on Sunday - leaving 11 dead.
5
5
5
Marapi spewed thick columns of ash as high as 9,800ft in Sunday's eruption and hot ash clouds spread several kilometres.
Climbers were left smothered in grey ash before being rescued by emergency crews from the slopes.
Chilling footage shows survivors plastered in ash and burnt as smoke billowed from the Marapi.
One hiker who cheated death filmed her badly burnt face after being caught up in the fatal eruption.
More world news
Zhafirah Zahrim Febrina, 19, started climbing the volcano with friends on December 1.
As the eruption rocked the area, she and her pals managed to make it down - but she was found at the bottom caked in ash.
She was rushed to hospital and treated for her burns.
Footage shows the student covered head to toe in thick grey ash.
Most read in The Sun
Her mum Rani said: “She sent me a WhatsApp message.
“She said she didn't have any strength left.”
Rescue workers confirmed Zhafirah is now out of trouble, but is very weak due to the burns all over her body.
Nearby villages and towns were also blanketed by volcanic debris.
Authorities raised the alert to the second-highest level and banned residents from going within 3km of the crater following the blast.
A rescue mission was frantically launched and dozens were evacuated from the area, with eight taken to hospital with burn wounds.
But 11 people have been found dead by emergency crews - with at least a further 12 still missing.
The search team had to suspend the operation today, however, after another, smaller eruption.
Marapi has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011.
It indicates above-normal volcanic activity and prohibits climbers or villagers within 3 kilometers of the peak, Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, said.
Gunawan warned it meant there should be no trekking to the peak as climbers are only allowed below the danger zone, "but sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further."
Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, said all of the climbers had registered at two command posts or online through West Sumatras conservation agency before they climbed.
He said others might have taken illegal roads or residents were active in the area.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
About 1,400 people live on Marapis slopes in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, the nearest villages about 5 to 6 kilometers from the peak.
Marapi has been observed regularly erupting since 2004 with a gap of two to four years, Gunawan said, adding: "Marapi eruptions are always sudden and difficult to detect using equipment because the source is near the surface".
5
5
Topics