TAGULANDANG – People have fled from a remote island in Indonesia, where a volcano recently erupted, but some people have dared to save the animals they left behind.
Mount Ruang in the northernmost region of the country has erupted more than half a dozen times since April 16, stirring up a spectacular mixture of ash, lava and lightning that forced island residents to move permanently and thousands more to evacuate.
But a team of volunteers has traveled to Space by boat to retrieve the abandoned animals from the foot of the volcano which is still on the highest level of alert.
“We know that they (animals) are still living there. How can we let them die, but we know that they are still alive there?” Volunteer Laurent Tan, 31, told AFP on May 4.
The owner of two animal shelters in the capital of North Sulawesi province Manado is one of the eight volunteers who have made the six-hour ferry journey several times to Ruang on the neighboring island of Tagulandang after the eruption.
On one of his missions to the ash-covered house on the island, he encountered a puppy, a white cat and bright turquoise and white tropical birds.
The dog, a female with burns on her face and body, was taken to an emergency shelter in Tagulandang, where veterinarians treated her on a wooden table while volunteers held cellphone flashlights.
The animal appears to have survived the blast by taking refuge in a large ditch.
The group, which includes volunteers from animal welfare organizations, was deployed twice on May 3 after several pet owners made a plea on social media to evacuate their animals.
An AFP reporter at the scene said more than a dozen animals had been rescued since May 3.
Some owners know 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 the 7km exclusion zone around the crater, which was lowered to 5km on May 5, with around 11,000 people designated for relocation.
As of May 4, more than 5,000 people from Tagulandang have been evacuated, the national disaster mitigation agency said on May 5, while all residents of Ruang – more than 800 – have been taken for permanent relocation.
Authorities have warned of potential flying rocks, lava flows and tsunamis as debris slides into the sea.