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INDONESIA-EARTHQUAKE WRAP LEAD
Volcano hikers tell of terror after Indonesia quake
MATARAM, Indonesia, July 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – More than 500 hikers and
guides stranded by landslides on an Indonesian mountain after an earthquake
have returned to safety, with some recalling their terror when tonnes of rock
cascaded down.
The shallow 6.4-magnitude quake, which struck early Sunday on Lombok island
and was followed by scores of aftershocks, triggered major landslides on
Mount Rinjani, blocking the hiking routes that criss-cross it.
Some 800 trekkers and their guides were on the mountain when the quake
struck including citizens from the United States, France, the Netherlands,
Thailand, Germany and 21 other countries, according to search and rescue
officials.
Hundreds managed to find a way down on Sunday and over 500 more reached
safety Monday night.
While most were able to pick their way down the mountain on foot, at least
three arrived at Sembalun village on the lower slopes by helicopter,
according to officials.
Some returned with harrowing tales of being caught out by the quake, which
killed 17 people across the holiday island including one on the mountain.
Australian hiker Stanley Yu said the ground began to shake about 20 minutes
after his group reached Rinjani’s peak.
“The earthquake lasted about 10-20 seconds. After that everybody was
rushing down,” he told AFP.
“On the way down there was another earthquake and that made everyone panic
— it was pretty scary.”
One Thai tourist, who reached the foot of the mountain Tuesday morning,
felt the ground shake beneath her sleeping bag.
“I felt the earth move… and thought ‘Huh? What’s happening?'” she said.
“I got out of my bed and then I saw a landslide (with) rocks falling down.”
A male friend said he watched parts of Rinjani’s slopes collapse.
“The whole mountain, rocks, fell down — I was a bit afraid,” he said.
– ‘Tired but in good condition’ –
The remaining 500 or so hikers were able to start climbing down on Monday
after guides discovered an alternate route that was unaffected by the
landslides.
The last three trekkers — two porters and a guide — are expected to
arrive at the base of the mountain by 7pm local time, said Agus Hendra
Sanjaya, a spokesman for the search and rescue agency on the island’s main
city of Mataram.
“We have searched the (Rinjani) area, there are no more hikers,” he told
AFP.
“We started this morning at 6am and will continue to monitor the situation
for the next three days from our base at the foot of the mountain in
Sembalun.”
Most of the trekkers reached the base of the mountain by late Monday
evening, according to I Gusti Lanang Wiswananda, another spokesman from the
Mataram search and rescue agency.
“They were all tired but in good condition and were checked by our medical
teams on the ground upon arrival,” he told AFP.
Helicopters and search teams had been deployed to scour the mountain’s
slopes and drop food supplies for those stranded on it.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed across Lombok, including a health
clinic.
National disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said
more than 220 people suffered serious injuries.
A Malaysian tourist was among the dead, with another six citizens injured,
the foreign ministry in Kuala Lumpur has said.
A total of 7,593 people are staying in temporary shelters, according to
officials.
The 3,726-metre (12,224-feet) Rinjani is the second-highest volcano in
Indonesia and a favourite among sightseers.
Its hiking trails were closed following the quake due to fear of further
landslides.
The epicentre of the earthquake was 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of
Mataram, far from the main tourist spots on the south and west of the island.
The initial tremor was followed by two strong secondary quakes and more
than 100 aftershocks.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1755 hrs