T

he Ijen Crater tourist site, located within the borders of Banyuwangi and Bondowoso regencies in East Java, has been temporarily closed to tourists, climbers and miners due to the presence of toxic gases.

The crater reportedly began spewing toxic gases on Wednesday night, poisoning 30 people living in four villages on the slope of Mount Ijen. They were taken to Community Health Center (Puskesmas) Ijen in Bondowoso on Thursday.

Banyuwangi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) section head Sumpena told The Jakarta Post that the affected residents lived in Margahayu, Watu Capil, Curah Macan and Sempol villages.

“There are 30 people who were poisoned. The spewing of toxic gases could not be predicted, and fortunately it happened at 7 p.m., before tourists arrived. They usually climb [the mountain] at 12 a.m. to watch the blue fire. Prior to the spewing of toxic gases, there was an explosion at Ijen Crater, followed by smoke that blew with the wind to the west of Bondowoso,” Sumpena said.

He added that following an agency investigation, it was determined that the villages affected by the toxic gases had slowly returned to normal and the color of the smoke had reportedly turned from green to grayish-white under the sun.