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YOGYAKARTA - Two men trapped in a bunker by volcanic debris from Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano have died, disaster management officials and a Reuters witness said on Friday. "The first person was in a singed condition because of hot steam," Widisutikno told Elshinta news radio, while the second person's body was intact when recovered from the bunker early on Friday morning.
A Reuters photographer said the bunker was full of the ash that also covered the surrounding area, and that at one point during the recovery effort on Friday a fresh gas cloud from the volcano sent rescue teams scurrying away from the site. Mount Merapi has been spilling molten lava and spewing clouds of hot gas and ash sporadically for weeks, but had one of its heaviest discharges yet on Wednesday.
Disaster official Susilo Purwanto told Reuters by telephone the men were trapped when they sought shelter that day, as searing clouds swept through villages 6-7 km from Merapi's top and left a trail of damaged buildings and neighbourhoods covered with grey ash. Rescuers had been trying to reach the men since Thursday, Purwanto said, adding that one of the dead was a rescue volunteer and the other a villager. They were the first known direct casualties since the mountain began a period of intense activity in April.
Merapi, in central Java near the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta, is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Pacific "Ring of Fire". It has threatened a major eruption for weeks, forcing thousands of people living nearby to shuttle back and forth between their homes and evacuation shelters. The volcano has become more active since an earthquake last month struck Yogyakarta and nearby areas killing more than 5,700 people.
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