REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOYOLALI -- Some 160 climbers have begun descending Mount Merapi, located between Central Java Province and the Special Municipalities of Yogyakarta. They had to forgo the ascent of Merapi following a phreatic eruption on Friday morning, a local Search and Rescue (SAR) team stated.

Samsuri, a member of the Barameru SAR team in Lencoh Selo Village, Boyolali District, Central Java, remarked that the 160 people were registered climbers, who were heading to the summit when the mount erupted, spewing a thick cloud rising to a height of 5,500 meters into the sky at around 8 a.m. local time.

"Some of them, about 50 climbers, were at the Pasar Bubrah point or the northern summit area, but now, all of them have begun climbing down," he noted.

The SAR team also stayed at Post 2 to check and guide the climbers in descending the mount. No reports of injuries or accidents of the climbers have yet been filed, Samsuri confirmed.

Prior to the phreatic eruption or steam eruption without lava ejection in Mount Merapi, some locals had witnessed a large cloud near the peak at 7:45 a.m. local time, but they remained calm and continued with their daily activities.

Tumar from Selo Village said his fellow residents thought that Mount Merapi was "coughing," so they carried on with their day-to-day activities.

According to the Disaster Mitigation Office of Boyolali, the phreatic eruption on Friday morning was triggered by groundwater turning into steam, as it was heated by magma. It is a common vulcanic activity.

However, Head of Boyolali's Disaster Mitigation Office Bambang Sinud noted that some residents of the three villages -- Klakah, Jrakah, Tlogolele -- who were working in their field located least than five kilometers from the summit had panicked and fled to their houses.

"However, they calmed down again after seeing Mount Merapi in a conducive condition," he stated.

The national Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center had not changed the status of Mount Merapi in the absence of seismic signs. The center has appealed to people living around Mount Merapi to remain calm and to not venture within two kilometers of the summit.

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