Indonesian rescuers dig through volcanic ash after eruption kills 9 and destroys buildings

MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue workers on Tuesday were sifting through smoldering debris and thick mud in search of survivors, a day after a volcano on Indonesia’s remote island of Flores erupted with fury, killing at least nine people with its searing lava and ash.

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

The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday lowered the known death toll from an earlier report of 10, saying it had received updated information from rescuers that a victim trapped under tons of debris in a collapsed house who was feared dead was eventually rescued alive and was now in critical condition at a hospital. The agency said 63 other people were hospitalized, 31 of them with serious injuries.

More than 2,400 villagers streamed into makeshift emergency shelters after Monday's powerful eruption that burned down seven schools and 23 houses, including a convent of nuns, on the majority-Catholic island, said the agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari.

Smoldering debris, thick mud and a power blackout hampered the evacuation and search efforts, said Kensius Didimus, a local disaster agency chief,

“We’ll do everything we can to evacuate villagers by preparing trucks and motorbikes for them to flee at any time,” he said, adding that the debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main roads on the island.

Authorities warned the thousands of people who fled the volcano’s wrath not to return during Tuesday’s lull in activity. But some were desperate to check on livestock and possessions left behind. In several areas, everything — from the thinnest tree branch to couches and chairs inside homes — was caked with ash.

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

The country’s geology agency said a series of eruptions since Thursday had created an accumulation of hidden energy due to a blockage of magma in the crater, which reduced detectible seismic activity while building up pressure.

“The eruptions have eased pressure that had been building under a lava dome perched on the crater,” said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, who heads the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation. “But we should anticipate hot ash and debris could tumble down from the crater due to heavy rains.”

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his Cabinet and disaster and military officials to coordinate the response, said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.

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

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province known locally as the husband and wife mountains. “Laki laki” means husband, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, 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 Indonesia’s second volcanic eruption in as many weeks. West Sumatra province’s Mount Marapi, one of the country’s most active volcanos, erupted on Oct. 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing nearby villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

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

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

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), a house is seen damaged by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers inspect the bodies of the victims of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (BASARNAS via AP)

Indonesian soldiers and residents put the body of a victim into a coffin for burial following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

FILE - Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews volcanic materials from its crater during an eruption in East Flores, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Kriting, File)

In this photo made available by Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the sky glows from the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki early Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in East Flores, Indonesia. (PVMBG via AP)

Houses are seen damaged from the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco reported third-quarter profits of $27.5 billion on Tuesday, down about 15% from last year as low oil prices ate into its revenues.

Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., had revenues of $111.1 billion over the quarter, the company said in a filing on Riyadh's Tadawul stock exchange. It had $113 billion in revenues the same quarter last year.

Profits for the third quarter last year were $32.5 billion.

The profit decrease “was mainly due to the impact of lower crude oil prices and weakening refining margins,” Aramco said.

Profit for the first nine months of 2024 was $83.9 billion, down from $94.5 billion the year before.

Oil prices have been depressed over recent days as tensions in the Middle East appear to have receded slightly and as China's economy has slowed. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at around $75 a barrel.

Aramco will pay dividends of $20.28 billion for the third quarter and a performance-linked dividend of $10.77 billion, the company said. It has said it hopes its overall dividend for the year will be over $124 billion.

While a sliver of Aramco trades on the Tadawul, the vast majority is held by Saudi Arabia’s government, fueling its expenditures and providing wealth to its Al Saud royal family. The company also serves as a bellwether for the global oil industry.

Stock in Aramco traded around $7.31 a share Tuesday, down from a high this year of over $9. It has fallen over the past year as oil prices have dropped.

Aramco has a market value of $1.7 trillion, making it the world’s sixth-most valuable company behind Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Alphabet which owns Google, and Amazon.

Aramco reported a $121 billion annual profit in 2023, down from its 2022 record due to lower energy prices.

Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface of its desert expanse, make it one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hopes to use the oil wealth to pivot the kingdom off oil sales, through projects such as his planned $500 billion futuristic desert city, called Neom. But lower oil prices have Saudi Arabia reportedly looking at curtailing some of those ambitions as the kingdom likely faces looming budget deficits.

Meanwhile, activists criticized the profits amid global concerns about the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change.

FILE - A man walks under a billboard displaying an advertisement for Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco with Arabic reading "Saudi Aramco, soon on stock exchange" in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)