Hijjah 11, 1431, Nov 17, 2010, SPA -- The death toll from the eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Merapi rose to 273 Wednesday after rescue workers discovered more bodies in ash-covered hamlets on the volcano's slopes, a disaster official said. An official of The National Disaster Management Agency was quoted as saying by DPA that the number of evacuees declined to about 300,000 from more than 380,000 late last week. Tens of thousands of villagers returned to their homes immediately after scientists reduced the danger zones early this week from 20 to 10 kilometres in some areas of Merapi's slopes. Subandrio, head of the Volcano Investigation and Technology Development Institution, said the volcano's condition was stable with no emissions from the crater recorded since midnight Tuesday. But he said the alert status was being maintained at the top level.
