Indonesian rescuers are looking for twelve hikers who disappeared after a volcanic eruption.

The 11 dead hikers were found on Monday near the crater of Mount Marapi on Sumatra island, while others were found alive and taken from the mountain in a complex rescue operation hampered by new eruptions and bad weather.

The volcano released a column of smoke measuring 3,000 meters on Sunday.

“This morning we are sending about 200 people, in addition to the people who are already there. So far they have dropped five bodies,” he told police AFP Hendri, chief of operations of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency.

“The volcano is still erupting,” says Hendri, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.

The 12 hikers were still missing as of Tuesday morning and six bodies have not yet been recovered from the mountain, he noted. The remaining five bodies have already been evacuated.

Rescuers tried to carry out manual evacuations using stretchers where possible due to persistent eruptions and poor visibility, he added.

Ahmad Rifandi, head of the Marapi Observatory, told AFP on Tuesday that he observed five eruptions between 00:00 and 08:00 (0100 GMT).

“Marapi remains very active. “We can’t see the height of the column because there is a cloud over it,” he noted.

For his part, Indonesian Volcanological Agency head Hendra Gunawan said Marapi had been at alert level two (out of four) since 2011 and a three-kilometer exclusion zone had been established around the crater.

He appeared to blame the hikers for getting too close to the crater, noting that the agency advises against visiting that area and that the “serious consequences” for the victims occurred within a radius of 1 to 1.5 kilometers of the crater.

Authorities said the hikers had signed up for an online service, but some others may have used illegal routes.

Relatives waited for news at an information center at the foot of the mountain.

“I will stay here until I hear news,” said Dasman, father of missing trekker Zakir Habibi, who traveled two hours from Padang to wait for news.

“I still hope my son survives,” he said on Monday.

As of Saturday, a total of 75 hikers were registered to hike the mountain. Some survivors suffered burns or fractures.

Rescuers said the search will last seven days.

The deceased had severe burns, so forensic experts were preparing to identify them with dental records or fingerprints, or from marks on the bodies, explained Eka Purnamasari of the West Sumatra Police Medical Unit.

Mount Marapi, which means Fire Mountain, is the most active volcano on the island of Sumatra.

Indonesia records frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.

The archipelago country has about 130 active volcanoes. (JO)