Climbers at Indonesia’s Mount Semeru safe after sudden volcanic eruption

At slightest 178 people, including climbers, porters, guides and tourism officials, were stranded connected the 3,676-metre upland successful East Java province.

More than 170 climbers caught by Mount Semeru’s abrupt eruption person returned to safety, Indonesian authorities said.

“They are harmless and present being helped to return,” Priatin Hadi Wijaya, caput of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, told a video quality league connected Thursday.

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At slightest 178 people, including climbers, porters, guides and tourism officials, started their mode up the 3,676-metre (12,060-foot) upland successful the Lumajang territory of East Java state connected Wednesday and became stranded astatine the Ranu Kumbolo camping area.

Another authoritative astatine the centre, Hetty Triastuty, added that Ranu Kumbolo is simply a harmless country located extracurricular the main information portion of 8km (5 miles) from the crater.

An aerial representation shows a pyroclastic travel during the eruption of Mount Semeru successful Lumajang, East Java, November 19, 2025 [Agus Harianto/AFP]

The camping country is connected the bluish slope of the mountain, which is not successful the way of the blistery unreality travel that was observed moving south-southeast.

However, the climbers whitethorn person been exposed to volcanic ash.

Mount Semeru successful eastbound Java erupted connected Wednesday afternoon, throwing ash and state much than 13km (8 miles) away, forcing officials to rise the alert presumption to its highest level.

Semeru is Indonesia’s highest highest and sits connected the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a seismically progressive arc wherever volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common.

‘Still traumatised’

Nearly 900 radical stayed successful shelters acceptable up successful schools, mosques and colony halls aft the eruption, catastrophe absorption bureau authoritative Sultan Syafaat said.

“During the night, they enactment [in shelters] astir apt due to the fact that they are inactive traumatised,” helium said.

Resident Faiz Ramadhani told the AFP quality bureau the eruption had been “very horrible”.

“At that time, 4 o’clock successful the afternoon, it was similar midnight. It was precise dark,” the 20-year-old said.

Some houses adjacent the volcano were partially buried by volcanic ash and stone fragments.

Nurul Yakin Pribadi, caput of Supiturang village, said helium was “shocked” to find his location was damaged.

“There was a metre-high spill of [volcanic] materials connected my house,” helium told AFP. “Many people’s houses were damaged.”

Semeru, besides known arsenic Mahameru, has erupted galore times successful the past 200 years, including a deadly occurrence successful 2021 that killed 62 radical and buried villages successful blistery ash.

Indonesia is location to nearly 130 progressive volcanoes – much than immoderate different state – and Semeru’s predominant enactment is intimately monitored due to the fact that of the risks it poses to adjacent communities, transport routes and aviation.

Locals thrust a motorbike arsenic Mount Semeru spews volcanic ash successful the background, successful Supiturang colony successful Lumajang, East Java province, Indonesia, November 20, 2025 [Dipta Wahyu/Reuters]