Search for victim of Indonesia's volcano resumes as toll rises to 16

Search and rescue operation for the victims of eruption of Mount Sinabung in Indonesia's North Sumatra province resumed Wednesday as the fatality of recent eruption rose to 16 with one seriously injured, officials said. About 200 rescuers would focus their searching on Sukameriah hamlet located in dangerous zone, in which the rescuers foresaw some victims remained there, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster agency. "It is forecast that some victims are still there in Sukameriah hamlet located 3 km from the crater,"Sutopo told Xinhua by phone. "The rescuers are heading to Sukameriah hamlet now to check whether any villager is still trapped there or is already killed, "Johnson Tarigan, the official in charge at media center at evacuation center for Mount Sinabung, told Xinhua via phone from the center. The operation was completely held up Tuesday due to rain of ash and threat of sliding off hot ash as the rumbling volcano erupted for four times on the day, said Sutopo, adding that the seismic activity remains high and the threat level is on top. The 2,475-meter-high Mount Sinabung in Karo district renewed activity in 2010, killing two people and catching scientists off guard as the volcano had been dormant for 400 years. The volcano eruption has been on and off since Mount Sinabung rumbled to life in September last year. Mount Sinabung is among the 129 active volcanoes in the vast archipelago country, which is prone to seismic upheaval as it sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire encircling the Pacific Ocean.