More than 500 hikers were evacuated on Monday from Mount Rinjani on Indonesia’s tourist island of Lombok, a day after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake triggered landslides around the mountain, cutting off escape routes, BBC reported.
“543 hikers have been evacuated – they arrived last night,” National Disaster Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told AFP. “There are now six people left...They are all healthy and safe.”
Around 550 people, including foreigners, were stranded on Mount Rinjani after the quake made two trails impassable. While some trekkers were flown out by helicopter, others walked down after a safe escape route was found. A rescue team was escorting six other trekkers down from Lake Segara Anak near Rinjani’s summit. One Indonesian hiker died on the mountain, and a Malaysian tourist also died, BBC reported.
At least 17 people were killed after the earthquake struck the island on Sunday morning. More than 1,000 houses were damaged in the earthquake.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday announced that people would get 50 million rupiah (Rs 2.4 lakh) for each damaged property. “The provincial governor will announce the total amount of everything [damages], and the aid will be allocated in the form of cash to let the residents build their damaged houses on their own,” Widodo said, according to CNN.
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