Casualties from Mount Merapi eruption rises to 23

ANKARA

At least 23 people are believed to have been killed after Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted twice in two days as rescuers found the last body of dozens of climbers caught by surprise in the rain of ash over the weekend, authorities announced Wednesday.

Eleven people were initially confirmed dead after the volcano's first eruption, while over 50 climbers were rescued, local English daily The Jakarta Post reported, while the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement that the lifeless body of the last of the missing climbers was found on Wednesday.

Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes in West Sumatra, erupted on Sunday, sending hot ash and other volcanic debris 3 kilometers (about 1.7 miles) into the sky.

Search operations were halted Monday, when the volcano erupted again, throwing up another tower of ash as high as about 800 meters (over 2,600 feet). Rescuers resumed the stalled operation on Tuesday.

About 75 climbers had started their way up the 2,891-meter mountain on Saturday before they were stranded.

Some 52 were rescued after the initial eruption on Sunday, eight of them hospitalized due to burn injuries.

Five bodies were recovered, while 18 were presumed dead due to their proximity to the summit, where the eruption took place.

With the retrieval of body of the last missing climber, the number of casualties have shot up to 23, it added.

Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, is situated on the island of Sumatra, where authorities have long prohibited residents and tourists from hiking within a three-kilometer radius of its crater.