Indonesian soldiers and rescue team gather to prepare for evacuating tourists from Mount Rinjani CREDIT: AP
Efforts were underway on Monday to rescue more than 500 hikers stranded on Mount Rinjani on Indonesia's Lombok Island, a day after a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the popular tourist destination.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the disaster mitigation agency spokesman, said on Twitter late on Sunday that 820 people had been stuck on the slopes of the volcano when the quake struck. He said 617 of those trekking at the time were foreigners.
Two trails were impassable following the earthquake, he said.
Helicopters and rescue teams on foot have been deployed to scour the slopes of Mount Rinjani, which is crisscrossed with hiking routes popular with tourists.
"There are still 560 people trapped. Five hundred are in Segara Anakan area, and 60 are in Batu Ceper," said the head of Rinjani national park Sudiyono, who goes by one name.
Indonesian and foreign climbers are seen after walking down from Rinjani Mountain at Sembalun village in Lombok CREDIT: REUTERS
Agung Pramuja, an official of the West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the death toll from Sunday's earthquake stood at 16.
"The latest information from the team in the field is that today all the families stuck on Mount Rinjani will be evacuated via the Sembalun trail," said Asdiyanto, an official at the North Lombok Disaster Mitigation Agency.
"This is being handled by the management team from Mount Rinjani National Park," said Asdiyanto who, like many Indonesians, uses one name.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake is considered strong and is capable of causing severe damage.
An Indonesian man examines the remains of houses, after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck, in Lombok CREDIT: AFP
The Lombok quake struck at 6.47 am on Sunday and was only 4.35 miles deep, a shallow depth that would have amplified its effect.
It was centred 31 miles northeast of the city of Mataram, according to the US Geological Survey, but it was also felt strongly to the west on the neighbouring island of Bali, Indonesia’s top tourist destination.
Earthquakes are common in Indonesia, which is located on the seismically active “Ring of Fire” on the rim of the Pacific Ocean.
