West Sumatra Police Evaluation Of The Granting Permit For Mount Marapi Climbing

BUKITTINGGI - West Sumatra Regional Police (Polda) opened the option to explore and evaluate the parties responsible for granting climbing permits for Mount Marapi, which has been known since 2011, has been banned from being boarded.

"Since 2011, there has been a warning not to climb mountains that are still burning," said West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Suharyono in Bukittinggi as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 5.

Referring to data from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, since August 3, 2011, Mount Marapi has a alert status or level II.

One of the agency's recommendations is that communities around Mount Marapi and visitors / tourists are not allowed to carry out activities / approach the mountain at a radius of three kilometers from the crater / peak.

The Kapolda said that climbers who enter through official posts must certainly follow the mechanism or standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the manager or giver of permits.

"Those who pass through the posts are through permits. Well, if the licensing party still allows it, it means we will evaluate it," said the Kapolda asserted.

Currently, the West Sumatra Police have not yet arrived at that stage because they are still focused on search and rescue missions and identification of victims of the eruption of Mount Marapi on Sunday (3/12).

The West Sumatra Police Chief emphasized that his party did not blame anyone for the disaster that occurred. However, each relevant party must evaluate the eruption of the active volcano.

When confirmed whether the incident led to a criminal element, the Kapolda said it still had to be investigated.

"We don't want to fumble because if the wrong factor becomes a crime, then it's not necessarily a crime either," he said.

The reason is that even though the authorities have issued a warning or a ban on climbing the mountain, there could be parties who obey or violate it.

Acting Head of the West Sumatra BKSDA (West Sumatra) Dian Indriati confirmed that 20 climbers died as a result of the eruption of Mount Marapi. 12 of them have been identified.

"We can convey here that the total number of climbers remains at 75 according to the booking order data. Congratulations 52 people, 40 without serious injuries, 2 serious injuries, 20 people died with 12 identified records," said Dian Indriati in an interview with Kompas Malam TV program quoted by VOI, Tuesday, December 5.

It was also stated that there were 3 climbers who were still on evacuation trips. "3 people are still in the process of being evacuated," he said.

There was a moment of eruption of Mount Marapi, the hiking trail was closed with a radius of 3 kilometers from the summit.