Trapped hikers evacuate mountain after earthquake
GROUPS of hikers picked their way down the slopes of a volcano on the holiday island of Lombok yesterday after an earthquake triggered landslides that trapped more than 500 tourists and guides on the Indonesian mountain.
Tons of rock and mud were dislodged on Mount Rinjani in the 6.4-magnitude quake, which struck early on Sunday and was followed by scores of aftershocks, blocking the hiking routes that criss-cross the mountain.
Around 560 people were estimated to be trapped on Rinjani overnight, including visitors from the US, France, the Netherlands, Thailand and Germany, search and rescue officials said.
“At the moment both domestic and international tourists are on their way down,” a spokesman for West Nusa Tenggara search and rescue told AFP, adding that the evacuation would be likely to extend into today.
Six Britons who registered to climb the mountain are believed to have confirmed to officials that they have made their way safely to its base. Hundreds of other hikers managed to get off the mountain on Sunday, according to officials. At least 16 people were killed in the earthquake, while hundreds of buildings were destroyed
Helicopters and search teams were deployed to scour the volcano’s slopes and drop food supplies for those stranded on the mountain. “For supplies, they can still survive for another one to two days,” the spokesman for the search and rescue agency said.