LUMAJANG - The number of victims who died as a result of being affected by hot clouds falling from Mount Semeru in Lumajang Regency, East Java, increased to 34 people as of Tuesday, December 7 afternoon.
"So far, 34 people have died and 16 are still being searched," said Head of the Operations and Alert Section of the Surabaya Basarnas I Wayan Suyatna to reporters at the Sumberwuluh Field Command Post, Candipuro District, Lumajang Regency.
According to him, there were four evacuation teams that carried out search operations for victims affected by hot clouds from avalanches at several points, namely in the Kobokan Bulk, Renteng Village, and the sand mining location.
"The evacuation team found at most the bodies of victims in two locations, namely Dusun Curah Kobokan, Supiturang Village, and Renteng Village, Sumberwuluh Village," he said as reported by Antara.
He explained that most of the victims' bodies were found buried in volcanic ash and hot clouds from avalanches, but some were found in the rubble of houses.
"So far, the weather is quite sunny in evacuating victims of Semeru's hot clouds due to the operational team's problems so far, namely weather factors such as strong winds and heavy rain, as well as Semeru activities such as hot clouds avalanches and volcanic ash," he said.
He said the activity of Mount Semeru which still has the potential to launch hot clouds of avalanches is also a consideration for the operation team in evacuating victims.
"We prioritize the safety of the evacuation team in searching for victims. If the weather is bad, the team will look for a safe place first before continuing to evacuate victims," he said.
The bodies of the victims found by the evacuation team were then taken to the Haryoto Regional General Hospital (RSUD) and Bhayangkara Lumajang Hospital for further treatment.
Meanwhile, based on data from the Surabaya Basarnas, the number of victims who suffered serious injuries was 26 people and 82 people had minor injuries who had undergone treatment at the Puskesmas and hospitals.
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