Indonesian volunteers return from a dangerous rescue mission to a remote island where a volcano has recently erupted, surrounding an abandoned, emaciated dog covered in blisters.
Mount Ruang in Indonesia’s northernmost region has erupted more than half a dozen times since April 16, spewing a spectacular mix of ash, lava and lightning that has forced the island’s residents to relocate permanently and thousands more to evacuate.
But when the locals fled, a team of volunteers went to Ruang by boat for a daring rescue mission to save the animals left behind from the foot of the volcano which remains on the highest level of alert.
“We know they (the animals) are still living there. How can we allow them to die when we know they are still alive there?” Volunteer Laurent Tan, 31, told AFP on Saturday.
Laurent, who owns two animal shelters in the capital of North Sulawesi province, Manado, is one of eight volunteers who have made the six-hour ferry ride several times to Ruang’s neighboring island of Tagulandang after the eruption.
On one mission to the ash-covered house on the island, he picks up an unnamed puppy, a white cat, and a bright turquoise and white tropical bird.
The dog, a female with burns on her face and body, was taken to an emergency shelter in Tagulandang, where a veterinarian treated her on a wooden table while a volunteer held a cellphone flashlight.
He appears to have survived the eruption by taking refuge in a large ditch. The surrounding village above ground has been destroyed, Laurent said.
The group, made up of volunteers from animal welfare organizations, was deployed twice on Friday after several pet owners made desperate social media pleas for them to evacuate their animals, and began rescuing “many” animals, he added.
An AFP reporter at the scene said more than a dozen animals had been rescued since Friday.
Some owners have learned that their pets are still alive after seeing pictures of the island of Space in the media.
– ‘Life matters’-
Authorities told locals to evacuate outside a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) exclusion zone around the crater, which was lowered to five kilometers on Sunday, with about 11,000 people designated for evacuation.
As of Saturday, more than 5,000 people from Tagulandang have been evacuated, the national disaster mitigation agency said on Sunday, while all residents of Ruang – more than 800 – have been taken to permanent relocation.
Authorities have warned of potential flying rocks, lava flows and tsunamis as debris slides into the sea.
But despite the risks, the volunteers are working.
One of them climbed the fence of an abandoned house to save some dogs left behind by their owners, before handing them over to vet Hendrikus Hermawan.
Hendrikus said the owner has been asking for volunteer help to save the dogs, including a five-month-old puppy.
Many rescued animals appeared hungry and stressed after their owners abandoned them, she told AFP.
“The first treatment we do here is to give them extra food and vitamins to relieve stress,” he said, adding that the animals can survive as long as they are nourished.
Volunteers aim to rescue all the dogs, cats and birds threatened by the volcano, bring them to Manado and reunite them with their original owners, Laurent said.
While the initial focus of the eruption was on the human impact, the volunteer said animals should not be forgotten.
“Our main focus is animals. Many people have received help, but this animal has no help,” he said.
“To me, his life is important. We consider him part of our family.”
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