Friday, November 5, 2010

Death toll from Indonesian volcano nears 100


A rescuer searches for victims of Mount Merapi eruption in Argomulyo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 5, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Gembong Nusantara)

November 05, 2010 (KATAKAMI) --- The death toll from Indonesia's volcano has climbed to nearly 100 in more than a week after a blistering gas cloud ripped through a mountainside village.

Hospital spokesman Heru Nugroho said 54 bodies were brought in after the inferno. More than 66 others were injured, many of them critically with burns.

Men with ash-covered faces streamed down Mount Merapi on motorcycles followed by truckloads of women and crying children, following the massive eruption just before midnight Friday.

Soldiers helped clear the bodies from the hard-hit village of Bronggang, located 9 miles (15 kilometers) from the crater, and up until Friday considered within the "safe zone."

The toll since Oct. 26 - including 44 killed before Friday's massive gas burst - stood at 98.


(MS)