Hundreds of tourists who were stranded on Mount Rinjani on the Indonesian island of Lombok by an earthquake that killed 16 people and triggered landslides are making their way off the mountain.
More than 250 people have reached a relief post in Sembalun village and a team of rescuers has reached hundreds more near the mountain’s crater, a local military official told Indonesian TV on Monday.
The official, known as Arifianto, said some suffered light injuries and were traumatised, but most were in good condition.
More than 335 people were injured when the magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck on Sunday, setting off landslides on the mountain and blocking the usual paths out.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitifagation Agency said nearly 690 people were stranded on Rinjani, an active volcano, based on figures from its entry gates where visitors are registered.
“Hundreds of trekkers in the crater in climbing areas couldn’t come down when they wanted to, because the paths were covered by debris from landslides and there were fears of subsequent landslides,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the agency, told a news conference.
Most of the trekkers are foreign – from 26 countries, including more than 330 from Thailand. A number of Britons have been confirmed safe, the Foreign Office has said.
On Monday, the national park authority said a key route to the peak of the 3,726m volcano had been cleared and a helicopter was dropping supplies to others still picking their way to safety.
Arifianto, who uses one name, said rescuers will escort trekkers down the mountain. Indonesian’s elite special forces have also been deployed to speed up the evacuation.
It typically takes two days and a night for trekkers to get to the crater rim of Rinjani and back down again, the national park says on its website.
The quake, which was centred on the northern part of Lombok, damaged more than 1,400 houses and was felt on the resort island of Bali.
Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency recorded more than 270 aftershocks.
The country’s president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, said the government would give each family whose home was destroyed 50 million rupiah (£2,600) to rebuild.
Much like Bali, Lombok is known for its pristine beaches and mountains. Hotels and other buildings in both locations are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.
Earthquakes are common in Indonesia, which is located on the seismically active “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines on the rim of the Pacific Ocean.
In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami which killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Additional reporting by agencies
