Mount Merapi back to normal

YOGYAKARTA: Mount Merapi has been reopened to mountaineers following declarations from geologists that its volcanic activities, since June 5, have returned to normal.

Mas Atje Purbawinata of the directorate of volcanology said yesterday that the 2,968-meter-high mountain is now safe to climb again, Antara reported.

"We recommend that climbers take the northern paths because, due to rain, cold lava is still, periodically, sliding down the southern slopes," he said.

Sixty six people were killed and dozens injured when the volcano erupted in November last year. (anr)