At least 178 people, including climbers, porters, guides and tourism officials, were stranded on the 3,676-metre mountain in East Java province.By News AgenciesPublished On 20 Nov 202520 Nov 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareMore than 170 climbers caught by Mount Semeru’s sudden eruption have returned to safety, Indonesian authorities said.“They are safe and now being helped to return,” Priatin Hadi Wijaya, head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, told a video news conference on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listAt least 178 people, including climbers, porters, guides and tourism officials, started their way up the 3,676-metre (12,060-foot) mountain in the Lumajang district of East Java province on Wednesday and became stranded at the Ranu Kumbolo camping area.Another official at the centre, Hetty Triastuty, added that Ranu Kumbolo is a safe area located outside the main danger zone of 8km (5 miles) from the crater. An aerial picture shows a pyroclastic flow during the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java, November 19, 2025 [Agus Harianto/AFP]The camping area is on the northern slope of the mountain, which is not in the path of the hot cloud flow that was observed moving south-southeast.However, the climbers may have been exposed to volcanic ash.Mount Semeru in eastern Java erupted on Wednesday afternoon, throwing ash and gas more than 13km (8 miles) away, forcing officials to raise the alert status to its highest level.Semeru is Indonesia’s highest peak and sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a seismically active arc where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common.‘Still traumatised’Nearly 900 people stayed in shelters set up in schools, mosques and village halls after the eruption, disaster management agency official Sultan Syafaat said. Advertisement “During the night, they stay [in shelters] probably because they are still traumatised,” he said.Resident Faiz Ramadhani told the AFP news agency the eruption had been “very horrible”.“At that time, four o’clock in the afternoon, it was like midnight. It was very dark,” the 20-year-old said.Some houses near the volcano were partially buried by volcanic ash and rock fr …
