Rinjani closed to climbers

Iman D. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Hikers have been banned from climbing Mount Rinjani after the volcano, located on the eastern island of Lombok, spewed out smoke and showers of stones on Tuesday.

The volcano, a popular destination for mountain climbers from all over the world, began rumbling last week, said Syamsul Rizal, a government vulcanologist, as quoted by AP news agency.

Despite the warning for the hikers, Rizal said that it was not necessary to evacuate villagers living near the peak of the mountain. The 3,723 meter volcano last erupted in 1994, causing the deaths of at least 30 people.

Rinjani is among 129 volcanoes in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation.

Separately, in East Java, two climbers were found dead on Monday night on Mount Bromo's Pananjakan Slope.

Choirul, a friend of the two climbers, recalled climbing the mountain with them on Saturday. They had approached it via Pananjakan Slope and were intending on celebrating Kasada, an annual ritual for native Tengger people, on the mountain. The path had been slippery and the three climbers had fallen into a 100-meter-deep ravine.

Choirul said his life had been saved as his clothes had caught on a tree. The bodies of his friends were discovered two days later on Monday. The three were among thousands of people who were climbing to the crater of Mount Bromo to observe the Kasada ceremony.

A few months ago, when Mount Bromo erupted killing two people, including a Malaysian tourist, a warning had been issued urging people not to climb Mount Bromo.

The warning still stood on Saturday, but it fell on deaf ears as many people, eager to participate in the Kasada ritual, chose to ignore it. Locals believe that the annual event, which involves people throwing offerings into the volcano's crater for the Gods, brings them greater prosperity.