Russian hiker found alive on Indonesian volcano

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Searchers in Indonesia have rescued a Russian hiker who was missing for six days while climbing the country’s most volatile volcano, an official said.

Yevgeny Luchina, 25, went missing Saturday while climbing the southern side of the 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) Mount Merapi, a popular site for visitors on the main island of Java.

He sent a text message to his Indonesian girlfriend saying he had lost his way and asking to be rescued.

Teguh Supriyadi, a spokesman for the local search and rescue agency, said Luchina was found Thursday in weak condition with some bruises.

Eight search-and-rescue teams comprised of 68 people, including soldiers from a special army force, were mobilized to look for Luchina, whose footprints where discovered Monday but rescuers were unable to track him.

His location at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) was discovered Thursday morning, but rescuers needed four hours to reach him because of a deep ravine separating them.

Merapi is the most active of Indonesia’s volcanoes. Last month, it unleashed a column of dark red volcanic material 3,280 feet into the air, but a lava eruption did not occur and the alert level was not increased. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.