Jakarta: The death toll in the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano in western Sumatra rumbling for months has gone up to 16. The dead included a local television journalist, four high-school students and a teacher who had come close to the volcano on a visit, according to reports. Last weekend's tragedy was attributed to official negligence in allowing villagers and tourists to the slopes of the volcano especially as there were sufficient warnings of an imminent eruption. Several people are undergoing treatment in hospital, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
The authorities had in the past few months evacuated thousands of villagers living within five km fearing an eruption but could not prevent those keen on returning home.
Many people may have gone missing. There were some tourists who had gone too close to take shots of the fuming crater.
The eruption spewed hot rocks and ash and lava some 2,000 metres into the air. The surrounding areas were blanketed with ash one foot thick and hot clouds of fumes.
Rescuers equipped with oxygen apparatus could not go beyond three km of Sinabung's crater. Visibility too was low because of the thick smog.
The volcano had started fuming in September.
In 2010, Mount Merapi volcano in central Java killed 350 people.
There are over 100 volcanoes in Indonesia, straddling major tectonic fault lines known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.
