REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MALANG -- The Mount Kelud eruption has claimed six lives, as of Saturday.

The information board in Pujon Disaster Post of Malang District, East Java Province noted that six deaths have been reported in a number of villages in Ngantang Sub-district.

"The last casualty who died on Friday evening, namely Sutinah, was earlier evacuated in Pujon Lor 1 Elementary School Post of Pujon Sub-district," a member of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, Yohan, said here, Saturday.

Yohan said he did not know the cause of Sutinah's death. He said that among the six victims, some victims died after being struck by debris from buildings that collapsed due to the weight of volcanic dust covering the area.

Yohan speculated that others died after inhaling the sulfur and volcanic dust that poured into the west area of Malang near Mount Kelud.

The disaster post noted that all six casualties are come from Pandansari Village, such as Said, Partini, Sanusi, Sairi, Yah, and Sutinah.

The evacuation posts in Pujon are located in eight areas and now housing thousands of refugees.

Meanwhile, there are 12 posts located in Batu City that accommodate refugees from Ngantang and Kasembon Sub-districts.

The agency predicted that the number of refugees will increase due to the evacuation plan from Kediri to Batu City.

The refugees in Batu City can receive information and assistance from several evacuation posts that have been established in the region, such as Bumiaji Sub-district office, Sisir Village office, Pesanggrahan Village office, Petiharan Social office, and Ganseha Youth Center in Batu City square.

Mount Kelud erupted on Thursday, leaving several areas in East Java and Central Java covered with volcanic ash, as well as thousands of people needing to be evacuated.

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