Rescuers have freed hundreds of hikers trapped on Mount Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and near Segara Anak Lake following a deadly earthquake that jolted the island of Lombok on Sunday.

Personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and the Search and Rescue Agency, supported by officials from the Mount Rinjani National Park and volunteers, concluded the evacuation on Tuesday, after escorting to safety 696 foreign and 530 Indonesian hikers in a three-day operation.

“The joint team began the evacuation on Monday evening, and it’s clear this afternoon. All hikers have descended,” Mataram Search and Rescue Office spokesman I Gusti Lanang Wiswananda said on Tuesday.

Those figures include 543 hikers evacuated in Tuesday’s operation after finding themselves trapped after the 6.4-magnitude quake triggered landslides that cut off major hiking trails.

The joint rescue team led the hikers to Sembalun village, an entry gate to the famed volcano, for medical treatment. Two helicopters were deployed to airlift six hikers trapped at Segara Anak Lake and the body of one deceased hiker named Muhammad Ainul Muksin. The 25-year-old from Makassar, South Sulawesi, was killed in a landslide.

One resident, Ina Indra, 70, had died after being admitted to North Lombok Hospital, increasing the death toll to 17, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPN) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Tuesday. The disaster has left 401 people injured, 5,448 houses destroyed and 5,141 people displaced.

Sambelia and Sembalun in East Lombok regency as well as Bayan in North Lombok are the districts worst hit by the jolt. Some 346 aftershocks had been recorded as of Tuesday, Sutopo added.

Mt. Rinjani, one of the iconic tourist attractions of the province, remained temporarily closed for hiking, Sutopo said, adding that public facilities like Lombok International Airport, Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, communications and electricity had not been disrupted.

Following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s order for emergency measures, the government has earmarked grants of Rp 50 million (US$3,468) to those whose houses have been severely damaged by the quake and Rp 10 million for light damage. The Social Affairs Ministry will also hand out Rp 15 million to family members of the deceased.

Meanwhile, NTB Disaster Mitigation Agency head Muhammad Rum said the agency was focusing on injured and displaced people put up at 13 shelters in the province.

The agency, along with other relevant parties, has opened medical posts and soup kitchens in Sembalun and Sembelia.

However, hundreds of villagers in Bayan district have not yet received any aid.

Some 410 people in Loloan village in Bayan district are staying in a makeshift shelter in front of the Montong Kemuning Mosque.

“We have not yet received anything, only instant noodles from village staff,” local resident Mastar, 42, told The Jakarta Post.

Loloan sits at the foot of the volcano and is an entry gate to Torean, also in Bayan district. The village is located some 60 kilometers from Tanujung, the North Lombok capital, where the posts have been erected.

“The emergency posts are really far, and it’s difficult for us to get access to aid because of the distance,” he added.

While not all houses were damaged, residents had opted to gather in the makeshift shelter at the mosque over fears of aftershocks, village chief Sugiatip said.

Most of the villagers, especially children, also suffered psychological trauma.

“Children are even scared to go to the bathroom, and they don’t want to go to school,” he said.

Some 230 residents in Bayan village had chosen to stay in a makeshift shelter at a local kindergarten, village chief Raden Mawardi said. (stu)

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