“Initially, only smoke emerged, then it started raining rocks, followed by ash. There was no warning,” says hiker Irvanda Mulya.
Mr Irvanda and 17 of his friends had planned to climb Mount Marapi for more than a month. But what started out as a fun expedition up one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes took a deadly turn last weekend.
Marapi, which translates from the local Minang language to “Mountain of Fire”, spewed scalding hot ash and rocks into the air on Sunday, leaving 23 people dead due to severe burns, including 12 from the group.
Mr Irvanda survived with extensive injuries along with his friend, Muhammad Fadli. They told the BBC how the eruption unfolded on the slopes of the mountain.
