MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were combing through smoldering debris and thick mud Tuesday for survivors, a day after a volcano erupted on Indonesia’s remote island of Flores. burst with furykilling at least nine people with its burning lava and ash.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki spewed thick brownish ash up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, and burning lava, gravel and ash were thrown up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from its crater, covering nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to flee.

The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday lowered the death toll from a previous toll of 10, saying it had received updated information from rescuers that a victim trapped under tons of debris in a collapsed house and feared death was finally rescued alive and has now been saved. in critical condition in a hospital. The agency said 63 other people were hospitalized, including 31 seriously injured.

More than 2,400 villagers flocked to makeshift emergency shelters after Monday’s powerful eruption that burned seven schools and 23 homes, including a nuns’ convent, on the predominantly Catholic island, the spokesperson said of the agency, Abdul Muhari.

Smoking debris, thick mud and a power outage hampered evacuation and search efforts, said Kensius Didimus, head of the local disaster agency.

“We will do everything possible to evacuate the villagers by preparing trucks and motorbikes so that they can flee at any time,” he said, adding that debris and lava mixed with rainfall have formed a thick mud which destroyed the main roads on the island.

Authorities warned thousands of people who fled the volcano’s wrath not to return during Tuesday’s lull. But some were desperate to check on the livestock and belongings left behind. In many areas, everything – from the thinnest tree branch to sofas and chairs inside homes – was covered in ash.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads covered in gray ash and houses covered in thick gray mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

The country’s geological agency said a series of eruptions since Thursday had created a hidden energy buildup due to a magma blockage in the crater, which reduced detectable seismic activity while increasing the pressure.

“The eruptions relieved pressure that had built up beneath a lava dome perched on the crater,” said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, who heads the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation. “But we should expect that hot ash and debris may fall from the crater due to heavy rain.”

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has tasked his cabinet and military and disaster officials with coordinating the response, said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, who like many Indonesians uses one name.

The country’s volcano monitoring agency raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level and more than doubled the exclusion zone within a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius after midnight Monday, as breakouts became more frequent.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in East Flores District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, known locally as the Husband and Wife Mountains. “Laki laki” means husband, while his companion is Lewotobi Perempuan, or wife.

Around 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began to erupt, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Frans Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed since then due to seismic activity.

This is the second volcanic eruption in Indonesia in as many weeks. West Sumatra Province Mount Marapione of the country’s most active volcanoes, erupted on October 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and covering nearby villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity as it is located along the “Ring of Fire”, a series of horseshoe-shaped seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

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Niniek Karmini and Andi Jatmiko in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.