The death toll has climbed to 39 following the eruption of the Semeru volcano in Indonesia's East Java province at the weekend, a search official said Wednesday according to the dpa. Search teams were still looking for 12 people listed as missing, said I Wayan Suyatna, head of preparedness at the search and rescue agency in East Java. The eruption sent villagers in Lumajang district fleeing their homes in terror as a huge column of smoke rose into the sky and searing molten rocks and gas barrelled down the slopes. Dozens were injured, mostly with severe burns, and more than 4,000 were displaced by the disaster, officials said.
