Death toll rises to 16
from Indonesia volcano

Binsar Bakkara, The Associated Press, Mount Sinabung, Indonesia | Archipelago | Sun, February 02 2014, 12:21 PM

The death toll from an Indonesian volcano that has been rumbling for months rose to 16 Sunday after rescuers found another charred corpse and a critically injured college student died in a hospital, officials said.
Mount Sinabung erupted again Saturday just a day after authorities allowed thousands of villagers who had been evacuated to return to its slopes, saying volcanice activity was decreasing. Rescuers found 14 bodies and rescued three people with burn wounds, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Rescue efforts resumed Sunday and rescuers found another body about three kilometers (two miles) from the volcano's peak, said Lt. Col. Asep Sukarna, who led the operation. Another resident, a 24-year-old college student died in an intensive care unit, said an official at the Efarina Etaham hospital.
Among the dead were a local television journalist and four high-school students and their teacher who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close, Nugroho said. At least three other people were injured and authorities fear the death toll will rise.

Sinabung in western Sumatra has been erupting for four months. Authorities had evacuated more than 30,000 people, housing them in cramped tents, schools and public buildings, but many were desperate to return to check on homes and farms.

On Friday, authorities allowed nearly 14,000 people living outside a five-kilometer (three-mile) danger zone to return after believing volcanic activity had decreased. Others living close to the peak have been returning to their homes over the past four months despite the dangers.

On Saturday, a series of huge blasts and eruptions thundered from the 2,600-meter (8,530-foot) volcano. Television footage showed villages, farms and trees covered in thick gray ash.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Mount Sinabung is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has sporadically erupted since September.
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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report. (**)


 Translet......

Korban tewas meningkat menjadi 16
dari Indonesia gunung berapi

Binsar Bakkara, The Associated Press, Gunung Sinabung, Indonesia | Nusantara | Sun, 2 Februari 2014, 12:21

Jumlah korban tewas dari gunung berapi Indonesia yang telah gemuruh selama berbulan-bulan naik menjadi 16 Minggu setelah tim penyelamat menemukan mayat hangus lain dan seorang mahasiswa menderita luka parah meninggal di rumah sakit, kata para pejabat.
 
Gunung Sinabung meletus lagi Sabtu hanya sehari setelah pemerintah mengizinkan ribuan warga yang telah dievakuasi untuk kembali ke lereng, mengatakan kegiatan volcanice mengalami penurunan. Tim penyelamat menemukan 14 mayat dan menyelamatkan tiga orang dengan luka bakar, kata juru bicara Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
 
Upaya penyelamatan dilanjutkan Minggu dan penyelamat menemukan mayat lain sekitar tiga kilometer (dua mil) dari puncak gunung berapi, kata Letnan Kolonel Asep Sukarna, yang memimpin operasi itu. Penduduk lain, seorang mahasiswa 24 tahun meninggal di unit perawatan intensif, kata seorang pejabat di rumah sakit Efarina Etaham.
 
Di antara yang tewas adalah seorang wartawan lokal televisi dan empat siswa SMA dan guru mereka yang mengunjungi gunung untuk melihat letusan dekat, kata Nugroho. Setidaknya tiga orang lainnya terluka dan pihak berwenang khawatir jumlah korban tewas akan meningkat.
 
Sinabung di Sumatera Barat telah meletus selama empat bulan. Pihak berwenang telah mengevakuasi lebih dari 30.000 orang, menempatkan mereka di tenda-tenda sempit, sekolah dan bangunan umum, tetapi banyak yang putus asa untuk kembali untuk memeriksa rumah dan peternakan.
 
Pada hari Jumat, pemerintah mengizinkan hampir 14.000 orang yang tinggal di luar lima kilometer (tiga mil) zona bahaya untuk kembali setelah percaya aktivitas vulkanik mengalami penurunan. Lainnya tinggal di dekat puncak telah kembali ke rumah mereka selama empat bulan terakhir meskipun bahaya.
 
Pada hari Sabtu, serangkaian ledakan besar dan letusan menggelegar dari 2.600 meter (8.530 kaki) gunung berapi. Tayangan televisi menunjukkan desa-desa, pertanian dan pohon tertutup abu tebal. 
Indonesia rentan terhadap gejolak seismik karena lokasinya di Pasifik "Ring of Fire," busur gunung berapi dan garis patahan mengelilingi Basin Pasifik. Gunung Sinabung adalah di antara sekitar 130 gunung berapi aktif di Indonesia dan telah meletus secara sporadis sejak September.
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Associated Press penulis Niniek Karmini di Jakarta, Indonesia, kontribusi untuk laporan ini. (**)