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5 missing as Merapi's status raising to highest level5 missing as Merapi's status raising to highest level
Five villagers living on Indonesia 's Mount Merapi's southern slopes were reported missing and two others trapped in a bunker a few hours after the volcano's status raising again to the highest alert level on Wednesday.
"I have communicated with the two people trapped in the bunker, " rescue worker Heri was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.
A volunteer was also reportedly injured, but it was still unclear whether he was a victim of heat cloud as he was still being treated by a team of medical workers, Heri said.
On Tuesday, the Volcanological and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center in Bandung downgraded the volcano's status to the second-highest alert as the volcano calmed down for a few days.
But the Center for Volcanological Research and Technology Development in Yogyakarta raised it again to the highest alert level at 03:00 p.m (0700 GMT) on Wednesday after a stream of huge heat clouds belched from the volcano over a distance of 6 to 7 km from the crater in southerly direction towards the Gendol river.
Thousands of people living on the volcano's slopes were again evacuated to temporary shelters at Glagaharjo and Umbulharjo villages as the volcano was continuing to spew out heat clouds.
Some residents said the huge heat clouds has destroyed part of the Bumi Perkemahan Bebeng tourist resort in Sleman district.
Source: Xinhua
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