Hundreds of Hikers Have Been Rescued From a Mountain After an Earthquake Triggered Landslides in Ind
After two days stranded on an Indonesian mountainside, trapped by earthquake-triggered landslides, the final six hikers awaiting rescue have reached safety, officials said. More than 800 climbers, mostly foreign tourists, were on the 12,000-foot mountain on Lombok Island at the time the 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck early Sunday, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. As more than 100 aftershocks continued to rock the popular tourist destination, falling debris caused several fatalities, while landslides blocked the paths down Mount Rinjani. The final six trekkers reached the bottom of the mountain on Tuesday morning, bringing to a close a massive search and rescue effort involving almost 200 personnel, Nugroho told CNN. At least 16 people were killed, and more than 160 injured. Among the fatalities were a 30-year-old Malaysian climber and another hiker who was hit by a landslide, local media reported. Tipatai Phusit, a hiker from Thailand who was on the mountain at the time of the disaster, told CNN he saw several people get hit by rocks and landslides. The International Federation for the Red Cross said 94 people sustained severe injuries. While property damage is still being surveyed, thousands are believed to have been rendered homeless. After a visit to the island Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that Rp50 million 3,400 would be allocated for rebuilding each extensively damaged house. Indonesia is particularly prone to seismic activity due to its location along the Pacific's "Ring of Fire," a chain of volcanoes and fault lines. In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake near Sumatra prompted a tsunami and led to more than 230,000 deaths.