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BFF-30
INDONESIA-TOURISTS-TRAPPED-MOUNTAIN
Over 500 tourists trapped on Indonesian mountain after deadly quake
JAKARTA, July 30, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – A total of 524 tourists have been
trapped on a mountain in Indonesian popular tourist island of Lombok after a
strong quake triggered landslides that cut off roads, a government official
said on Monday.
The tourists hiking the Mount Rinjani volcano in West Nusa Tenggara
province, include 358 foreign visitors and 166 domestic tourists, spokesman
of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
The foreign visitors come from the United States, the Britain, Malaysia,
Canada, France, Netherlands, Thailand and Singapore, he said.
“Landslides have already occurred with rocks and soil burying the road to
go down from the mountain,” Sutopo told Xinhua.
Soldiers, police personnel and volunteers were rescuing the stranded
holidaymakers on Monday, he added.
A 6.4-magnitude quake rocked West Nusa Tenggara province early Sunday,
leaving at least 14 people dead, including one Malaysian, 162 others injured
and over 1,000 houses and buildings destroyed.
Mount Rinjani volcano, a popular tourist destination, draws hundreds of
thousands of climbers every year, according to the government data.
Indonesia sees frequent quakes as it lies in the quake-prone Pacific Ring
of Fire area.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1111 hrs