Two German climbers killed

Two German climbers killed

SURABAYA: Two German climbers have been killed by a hail of
volcanic rock and hot ash from the 3,676-meter Mt. Semeru volcano
in East Java, Antara reported yesterday.

Von der Becke Wiltroud, a 58-year-old woman, and Kiemaier
Ersnt, a 55-year-old man, belonged to a group of German tourists
visiting Semeru, one of Indonesia's 128 active volcanoes.

Among 17 other members of the group, who remained unscathed,
was the dead woman's husband.

Local authorities said the two were killed on Tuesday when
they moved too close to the volcano's crater despite notices
warning visitors to stay away from it.

"When the two approached the crater, a sudden volcanic
outburst occurred and the two were hit by stones, rocks and hot
ash," said chief of Semeru's volcano monitoring center, Sarmin.

The bodies of the two climbers were evacuated on Wednesday and
taken to Dr. Saiful Anwar Hospital in Malang, East Java.

Activity of the volcano has increased over the past three
weeks, and volcanologists have alerted local residents living in
the danger zone, Sarmin said.

Despite the alert, tourists were still allowed to scale the
volcano, but have been advised not to go near the crater. (swe)