11 climbers die after Indonesia's most active volcano erupts

Jakarta, Dec 4: Eleven climbers died and some others remain missing following the eruption of Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia located in the Sumatra Island, a rescue official said on Monday.

"In the first stage, 49 climbers were found. They all survived and were taken to hospital, and some have returned home. In the second stage, we found 14 people, three survived and 11 others died," head of Padang Search and Rescue Agency Abdul Malik told Xinhua news agency.

The climbers were on their way to the foot of the mountain amid the eruption.

Authorities have deployed nearly 100 people to search for a total of 75 recorded climbers.

Mount Merapi, which is as high as 2,891 meters above sea level, erupted on Sunday, spewing a column of ash of 3,000 meters, spreading volcanic ash and rocks into the surrounding area.

The authorities have prohibited people from being in the danger zone within a 3-km radius of the main crater.

Located on the border of the provinces of Central Java and Yogyakarta, Mount Merapi has erupted regularly since 1548.

A major eruption in 2010 killed 353 people and displaced over 20,000 residents.

Since 2010, Merapi had experienced several smaller eruptions, most noticeably two phreatic eruptions which occurred in November 2013 and May 2018.

In July this year, Merapi had erupted 16 times in just 24 hours.