More than 170 climbers caught by Mount Semeru’s sudden eruption have returned to safety, Indonesian authorities said.

“They are safe and now being helped to return,” Priatin Hadi Wijaya, head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, told a video news conference on Thursday.

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At least 178 people, including climbers, porters, guides and tourism officials, started their way up the 3,676-metre (12,060-foot) mountain in the Lumajang district of East Java province on Wednesday and became stranded at the Ranu Kumbolo camping area.

Another official at the centre, Hetty Triastuty, added that Ranu Kumbolo is a safe area located outside the main danger zone of 8km (5 miles) from the crater.

The camping area is on the northern slope of the mountain, which is not in the path of the hot cloud flow that was observed moving south-southeast.

However, the climbers may have been exposed to volcanic ash.

Mount Semeru in eastern Java erupted on Wednesday afternoon, throwing ash and gas more than 13km (8 miles) away, forcing officials to raise the alert status to its highest level.

Semeru is Indonesia’s highest peak and sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a seismically active arc where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common.

‘Still traumatised’

Nearly 900 people stayed in shelters set up in schools, mosques and village halls after the eruption, disaster management agency official Sultan Syafaat said.

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“During the night, they stay [in shelters] probably because they are still traumatised,” he said.

Resident Faiz Ramadhani told the AFP news agency the eruption had been “very horrible”.

“At that time, four o’clock in the afternoon, it was like midnight. It was very dark,” the 20-year-old said.

Some houses near the volcano were partially buried by volcanic ash and rock fragments.

Nurul Yakin Pribadi, head of Supiturang village, said he was “shocked” to find his house was damaged.

“There was a metre-high spill of [volcanic] materials on my house,” he told AFP. “Many people’s houses were damaged.”

Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the past 200 years, including a deadly episode in 2021 that killed 62 people and buried villages in hot ash.

Indonesia is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes – more than any other country – and Semeru’s frequent activity is closely monitored because of the risks it poses to nearby communities, transport routes and aviation.