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Death toll from eruption of volcano in Indonesia rises to 13 - authorities

The deputy head of government of the Lumajang District said that rescuers continue their search operation

SINGAPORE, December 5. /TASS/. The death toll from the eruption of the Semeru volcano on the Indonesian island of Java has risen to 13 people, the Detik news portal reported citing the deputy head of government of the Lumajang District.

"The bodies of 12 more dead were found today," the official said. The death of one local resident was confirmed on Saturday.

"Rescuers continue their search operation," the deputy head of the district said.

Earlier, several dozen people were taken to hospitals with burns resulting from the release of burning lava.

According to the news portal, local residents said that the early warning system had failed and many local residents did not have time to leave their homes, which ended up being completely covered with sand, mud and ash.

An increase in the activity of the Semeru volcano was recorded on Saturday at about 15:20 local time (11:20 Moscow time). Semeru is the highest peak on the island of Java, its previous eruption occurred in January this year, then none of the local residents were hurt.

In 1963, as a result of the eruption of the Agung volcano on the island of Bali, over 1,500 people died, and about 100,000 more became homeless. The largest in the world, the Indonesian archipelago consisting of 18,000 islands, is located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the radius of which is about 40,000 km. The ring also includes Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, USA, Philippines, Japan. Indonesia currently has 127 active volcanoes.

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