Rescuers combed the slopes of Mount Merapi on Wednesday, one day after the country’s most active volcano was rocked by an eruption that spewed hot clouds, killing 31 people, including a man known as the volcano’s guardian.

Hot clouds — known as wedhus gembel, a Javanese expression for sheep-shaped pyroclastic clouds — were expelled from the mountain at an estimated speed of 300 kilometers per hour at a temperature of 600 degree Celsius.

On Wednesday, the stench of sulfur and dead livestock was in the air with thick ash covering flattened houses, turning the area eerie white.

Most fatalities came from Kinahrejo hamlet in Cangkringan district, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, or the home of the volcano’s spiritual keeper Ki Surakso Hargo, better known as Mbah Maridjan. The 85-year-old’s body was found at his home in the hamlet, located 5 kilometers from the mountain’s raging crater.  The burnt and prostrated body, presumed to be in prayer, was identified by relatives and this image was instantly circulated through mobile phones.

The disaster also killed vivanews.com journalist Yuniawan Nugroho and two volunteers, Tutur Priyono from Bantul Red Cross and Slamet Ngatiran from Tagana (Taruna Siaga Bencana) Yogyakarta.

Rescuers only managed to evacuate 12 of 15 bodies from Maridjan’s house Tuesday night due to bad weather, hot cloud and ash. The rest were evacuated early Wednesday.

Yogyakarta Police Disaster Victim Identification Unit spokesman Comr. Agung Hadi Wijanarko said identification of the victims was expected to be completed late Wednesday.

“We hope the identification will have finished for the scheduled mass funeral tomorrow at 10 a.m.,” Agung said at Yogyakarta’s Dr. Sardjito General Hospital Wednesday.

Most victims suffered 70 to 80 percent burns to their bodies and were hardly recognizable.

Head of Dr. Sardjito’s public relation division, Heru Nugroho, said the hospital received 13 bodies until after midnight on Tuesday and received another 12 bodies the following morning. Twenty victims were men and five women.  The number of fatalities may increase.

The volcano is situated in four regencies – Sleman, Magelang, Klaten  and Boyolali – in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces.

Merapi’s eruption, which took place the day it was put on top-alert status, took residents by surprise, forcing many, including those living outside the 10-kilometer danger zone, to flee to shelters.

Resident Tukirah of Pangukrejo hamlet in Cangkringan, said the disaster happened quickly. “Suddenly we heard loud roars followed by sirens,” after which everyone fled.

About 19,000 residents took refuge in seven shelters in Yogyakarta, which in all can only accommodate 12,000 evacuees.  Some 30,000 others took to 39 shelters in Magelang.

Many locals from Yogyakarta who arrived in the shelters after the 5:03 p.m. eruption on Tuesday were not provided with food supplies.

“Supplies such as bottled water arrived at shelters at 1:30 a.m. [on Wednesday],” said Agusti Handayani, who took refuge with her family.

Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo expressed regret that a high number of fatalities resulted from reluctance to evacuate. “Residents should have obeyed  instructions to evacuate since it was made based on scientific calculations. We can’t fight nature but we must avoid disaster.”

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