Death toll from volcano eruption rises to 16

Flowers and a portrait of a victim killed during the eruption of Mount Sinabung volcano are left by relatives on a hill in Karo district overlooking the volcano in the background yesterday.

DPA/Jakarta

A man who was injured in last week’s volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Sumatra island died yesterday, bringing the death toll from the disaster to at least 16, a disaster management official said.

The 70-year-old succumbed to his injuries after being treated in hospital for four days, said Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Rescuers resumed a search for more victims yesterday after it was cancelled Tuesday because the volcano continued to belch hot rock and gas, Nugroho said.

More than 31,000 people have now sought refuge in government buildings, mosques and churches.

Sinabung’s latest round of eruptions began in September last year. The 2,460-metre volcano had been dormant for 400 years before it erupted again in August 2010.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes.