Eleven hikers killed as volcano erupts in Indonesia.

Over the weekend, 11 hikers were found dead near the crater of Indonesia’s Marapi volcano, rescuers said.

The rescue of three people took place on Monday. Due to a small eruption, the search for 12 other missing has been suspended.

When the eruption occurred, 75 hikers were in the area, but most were evacuated safely.

As much as 3km (9,800ft) of ash was spewed from Mount Marapi on Sunday, one of Indonesia’s 127 active volcanoes.

Those living within 3km of the crater have been prohibited from entering. Authorities have raised the alert level to the second-highest.

Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency, described the three rescued as “weak and burned”. There were 49 climbers evacuated from the area earlier on Monday, many of whom also sustained burns.

An enormous cloud of volcanic ash covered the sky and cars and roads during Sunday’s eruption.

The dead and injured were carried down the mountain’s arduous terrain and onto waiting ambulances blaring sirens.

The temperature was very high, and some people suffered burns,” said Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency.

A hiker who was rescued said “God is great” and moaned in pain, according to the AFP news agency.

A spokesperson for the local search and rescue team, Jodi Haryawan, told reporters that it would be “too dangerous” to continue searching while the volcano was erupting due to the danger of the eruption.

On the westernmost island of Sumatra, the 2,891m (9,485ft) high Mount Marapi is the highest mountain in Indonesia.

In the Indonesian archipelago, where volcanic and seismic activity are more frequent due to the collision of continental plates, there is an area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.