Volcano Erupts With Hundreds of Hikers Nearby

Indonesia evacuates tourists from 'Child of Rinjani'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 28, 2016 3:45 AM CDT
Updated Sep 28, 2016 6:03 AM CDT

Indonesian authorities are searching for several hundred tourists after Mount Barujari on Lombok island spewed a massive column of ash into the atmosphere and have evacuated more than 1,100 others, the country's disaster agency says. The volcano, also known as the Child of Rinjani because it sits within the Mount Rinjani caldera, erupted without warning on Tuesday afternoon, delaying flights from airports on the islands of Lombok and Bali, the AP reports. The ash column reached more than a mile into the air.

A Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman says that nearly 400 foreign and local tourists had been registered since Sunday to climb the mountain, leaving from a monitoring post about 7 miles from the volcano's crater. There have been no reports of injuries from the eruption. Heronimus Guru, the deputy operations chief at Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency, said Wednesday that about 120 tourists, mainly foreigners, had been located so far and were heading down the mountain. Authorities say farms in the area have been coated in ash but nearby towns and villages are not in danger. (More volcano stories.)

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