Terrified British students survived major Indonesian earthquake – while trekking on an active volcano
TWO terrified British students were caught in an earthquake — on a volcano.
Anna Stevens and Kathryn Coulson, both 21, were trekking on Mount Rinjani on the Indonesian island of Lombok when the 6.4 tremor struck on Sunday, killing at least 16.
Kathryn’s aunt Victoria said they faced an anxious wait until they heard from the pair.
She added: “They were terrified. At first they thought the volcano was erupting. There were boulders flying past them and then aftershocks.”
Anna, from Neasham, Co Durham, and Kathryn, of nearby Middleton St George, were among hundreds of tourists stuck on the volcano until yesterday because bridges were destroyed in the quake.
Their families had to wait for news until the British Embassy traced the two students.
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The students saw an army truck heading up the mountain to collect bodies as they descended, so it was feared the official death toll may increase.
The earthquake early on Sunday killed 16 people, including an Indonesian student who was among the Mount Rinjani climbers.
The shallow quake set off landslides on the rocky mountainside, blocking the normal pathways out.
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