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Airlines stop Jakarta flights after volcano blast
Several international carriers for the first time temporarily canceled flights to the capital Jakarta — 280 miles (450 kilometers) west of Merapi — over concerns volcanic ash in the air could cause damage to their aircraft and engines, jeapordizing safety.
Among them were Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Malaysia Airlines.
With more than 90 people killed, many of them after succumbing to their injuries, Friday was Merapi's deadliest day in decades, but Sigit Priohutomo, who works at Sardjito hospital, predicted the toll would rise.
Indonesia's most volatile mountain unleashed a surge of searing gas, rocks and debris Friday that raced down its slopes at highway speeds, torching houses and trees and incinerating villagers caught in its path.
It continued to rumble and groan Saturday, at times spitting gray clouds of ash and gas up to five miles (eight kilometers) into the air, dusting windshields, rooftops and leaves on trees hundreds of miles (kilometers) away on Saturday.
With a nearby airport closed because of poor visibility, ventilators needed for burn victims were stuck in Jakarta, and were being delivered instead by road, he said. In meantime, nursing students were using emergency respirators pumped by hand.
In recent days, however, more than 200,000 people have crammed into emergency shelters in the shadows of the volcano, which showed no signs of tiring.
"It's scary. ... The eruption just keeps going on," said Wajiman, 58, who was sitting in a shelter near a girl reading a newspaper headlined "Merapi isn't finished yet."
Several international carriers for the first time temporarily canceled flights to the capital Jakarta — 280 miles (450 kilometers) west of Merapi — over concerns volcanic ash in the air could cause damage to their aircraft and engines, jeapordizing safety.
Among them were Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Malaysia Airlines.
With more than 90 people killed, many of them after succumbing to their injuries, Friday was Merapi's deadliest day in decades, but Sigit Priohutomo, who works at Sardjito hospital, predicted the toll would rise.
Indonesia's most volatile mountain unleashed a surge of searing gas, rocks and debris Friday that raced down its slopes at highway speeds, torching houses and trees and incinerating villagers caught in its path.
It continued to rumble and groan Saturday, at times spitting gray clouds of ash and gas up to five miles (eight kilometers) into the air, dusting windshields, rooftops and leaves on trees hundreds of miles (kilometers) away on Saturday.
With a nearby airport closed because of poor visibility, ventilators needed for burn victims were stuck in Jakarta, and were being delivered instead by road, he said. In meantime, nursing students were using emergency respirators pumped by hand.
In recent days, however, more than 200,000 people have crammed into emergency shelters in the shadows of the volcano, which showed no signs of tiring.
"It's scary. ... The eruption just keeps going on," said Wajiman, 58, who was sitting in a shelter near a girl reading a newspaper headlined "Merapi isn't finished yet."