Safely down but scarred
Some of the 500 hikers and guides evacuated from Mount Rinjani recall the terror of their quake experience.
MATARAM ( Indonesia): 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 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 many other countries, accord- ing to search and rescue officials.
Hundreds managed to find a way down on Sunday and over 500 more reached safety on 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 16 people across the holiday island including one on the mountain.
One Thai tourist, who reached the foot of the mountain yesterday 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 bed and 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.
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. —