Agnes Monica

Artis multitalenta ini mengawali karirnya sejak usia enam tahun sebagai penyanyi cilik.  Di usia yang masih belia Agnes meluncurkan album kanak-kanak yang melambungkan namanya sebagai penyanyi cilik.  Album yang melejitkan namanya yaitu ‘Meong', ‘Yess' dan ‘Bala-bala' membawa penyanyi yang lahir di Jakarta, 1 Juli 1986 berada di jajaran penyanyi anak terpopuler di akhir tahun 1990-an.

Selain bernyanyi, Agnes dikenal sebagai seorang presenter cilik yang sukses. Setelah membawakan acara di VAN Anteve, Agnes makin dikenal setelah membawakan program acara anak di stasiun RCTI, ‘Tralala-Trilili'. Berkat penampilannya di Tralala-Trilili, Agnes memperoleh penghargaan Panasonic Award sebagai presenter cilik terfavorit pada 1999.  Agnes juga sempat membawakan acara Diva Romeo di Trans TV.

Memasuki usia remaja, Agnes mulai menapaki dunia seni peran. Setelah debutnya di ‘Lupus Millenia' (1999) dan ‘Mr Hologram', Agnes membuktikan aktingnya saat membintangi sinetron  ‘Pernikahan Dini' (2001) bersama Syahrul Gunawan. Agnes juga menyanyikan lagu tema sinetron ‘Pernikahan Dini'. Kesuksesan sinetron yang meraih empat penghargaan di Panasonic Award 2001 dan 2002 ini semakin melambungkan namanya.

Agnes juga membintangi beberapa judul sinetron seperti ‘Amanda', ‘Cewekku Jutek', ‘Cantik', ‘Ciuman Pertama', ‘Bunga Perawan' dan ‘Kawin Muda'.

Sinetron Cewekku Jutek di tahun 2003 membuat Agnes mendapat predikat sebagai aktris terfavorit di ajang Panasonic Award serta ‘Bunga Perawan' dan ‘Cantik' di tahun 2004 membuatnya mendapat predikat sebagai Aktris Ngetop di pagelaran SCTV Awards 2004.

Setelah sukses dengan menyanyikan lagu tema Pernikahan Dini, yaitu ‘Pernikahan Dini' dan ‘Seputih Hati', Agnes kemudian berkolaborasi dengan penyanyi Yana Julio menyanyikan single ‘Awan' dan ‘Ombak'. Album pertama yang Agnes setelah dewasa dirilis pada 8 Oktober 2003 bertitel And The Story Goes. Tak tanggung-tanggung, para pentolan musisi tenar seperti Ahmad Dhani dan Melly Goeslaw ia gaet untuk memluskan langkahnya bersaing di dunia internasional.

Album perdananya setelah dewasa mendapat sambutan luar biasa. Di ajang AMI 2004, Agnes meraih predikat Artis Pop Solo Wanita terbaik, Produksi Dance/Techno Terbaik untuk lagu bilang saja serta Duo/Grup terbaik dengan Ahmad Dhani di lagu ‘Cinta Mati'. Di tahun yang sama Agnes menyabet predikat Pendatang baru terbaik di Anugerah Planet Muzik 2005 serta Most Favorite Female pada MTV Indonesia Award 2004. Album perdananya meraih Double Platinum dengan penjualan lebih dari 300.000 ribu kopi.   

Album kedua berlabel Whaddup A'? Agnes terus menunjukkan tajinya. Selain menggandeng musisi nasional seperti Dewiq, Melly Goeslaw, Andi Rianto dan lainnya, Agnes juga berduet dengan penyanyi asal Amerika Keith Martin. Martin menciptakan dua lagu dan berduet di lagu ‘I'll Light A Candle'.

Album kedua Agnes kembali melejit dengan bebrapa lagu favorit diantaranya ‘Bukan Milikmu Lagi', ‘Tanpa Kekasihku', ‘Tak Ada Logika', dan ‘Cinta di Ujung Jalan'.  

Kesibukannya membuat Agnes memutuskan cuti kuliah dari Fakultas Hukum dan fokus bermusik. Hasilnya, Agnes sukses menyabet penghargaan bergengsi seperti Most Favorite Female pada ajang MTV 2006 dan Artis Solo Wanita Terbaik serta  Penyanyi Rythm dan Blues Terbaik di ajang AMI Award 2006. Lima penghargaan yang ia kantongi sepanjang tahun 2006 membuatnya terpilih sebagai Aktris Terpopuler 2006.

Tak puas dengan penghargaan yang didapatnya, bintang penuh sensasi ini, berambisi untuk Go Internasional. Agnes mencoba menjajal akting dalam film The Hospital bersama bintang Taiwan yang tengah naik daun Jerry Yan yang juga salah satu personil F4. Dia juga membintangi drama Taiwan lainnya  Romance In The White House dan The Romance.

Agnes menjadi penyanyi pembuka konser Boyz II Men di Istora Senayan,pada 15 Mei 2007. Sebelumnya Agnes direncanakan duet bareng Vanya, Maurice dan  Shawn, namun batal karena belum ada persiapan matang.

SINETRON

Setelah beberapa tahun tak muncul dalam sinetron, Agnes kembali membintangi dua judul sinetron pada 2008, Jelita dan Kawin Massal. Di tahun yang sama, Agnes juga menelurkan sebuah single berjudul Matahariku sebagai lagu tema Jelita.  Meski sinetonnya tak begitu sukses, single terbaru Agnes mendapat Platinum dengan angka downloada mencapai 1,5 juta. Agnes kembali ditasbihkan sebagai Most Favorite Female pada MTV Award Indonesia 2008.

September 2008, Agnes melepas single Godai Aku Lagi ke pasar yang juga masuk dalam album ketiganya, Sacredly Agnezious yang rilis 16 Maret 2009. Sebelumnya single Matahariku dan Godai Aku Lagi dikemas dalam CD Single berjudul NEZ. Berbeda dengan album sebelumnya, di album yang menjagokan single Teruskanlah ini ia meluncurkan dalam dua versi, berisi 10 track dan 13 track. Agnes juga terlibat langsung sebagai produser.

Agnes membuktikan ia mampu terus berprestasi. Pada bulan Maret 2009, namanya menjadi salah satu penerima penghargaan Class Music Heroes. Dan ia menjadi termuda yang menerima penghargaan ini. Di tahun yang sama, Agnes menarih predikat penyanyi solo terdahsyat versi ajang Dahsyat Award  pada 19 April 2009. Meski jarang terdengar  seperti tahun sebelumnya, Akhir November 2009 Agnes kembali merebut tropi sebagai Artist of The Year dan Favorite Artist pada ajang MTV Indonesia Awards 2009.

SBY criticizes abuse of maid in Saudi Arabia

The Associated Press, Jakarta | Wed, 11/17/2010 1:54 PM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants justice for a domestic worker who was allegedly tortured by her employers in Saudi Arabia.

The 23-year-old maid, Sumiati bini Salan Mustapa, has been hospitalized in Medina since Nov. 8, with burns all over her body, a fractured middle finger and cuts around her lips, reportedly made by scissors.

Yudhoyono said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday in Jakarta that the "extraordinary torture" needs to be investigated.

"I want the law to be upheld and to see an all-out diplomatic effort."

More than 80,000 Indonesian domestic workers flock to Saudi Arabia every year. Rights groups say they, and other migrant workers, at times face slavery-like conditions and sexual abuse.

Govt steps up heat on S. Arabia over worker abuse

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/20/2010 11:22 AM | Headlines

In reality, it will be worse: Activists from the Indonesian Workers Association and Migrant Care stage a theatrical performance with a theme of torturing Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia in front of the Royal Saudi Arabia Embassy in Jakarta Friday. Sumiati bini Salan Mustapa, an Indonesian maid, was inhumanly tortured by her Saudi employer recently. JP/Nurhayati

 Indonesia’s fury over the abuse and murder of migrant workers has found no relief. A regional government has imposed a complete moratorium while the President considered reviewing the practice of sending workers to Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia would review sending migrant workers to “uncooperative, non-transparent” countries, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters at the State Palace after a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

The President said “all out diplomacy” would be deployed against non-transparent countries to protect the interests of Indonesian workers.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that “uncooperative, non-transparent” countries were generally in the Middle East, and included Saudi Arabia.  

Marty summoned Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdurrahman Mohammad Amen Al-Khayyat on Friday for the third time this week on yet another incident involving a migrant worker. He previously summoned the ambassador twice and sent a letter to the Kingdom’s foreign minister following the case of 23-year-old Sumiati, a West Nusa Tenggara resident who was allegedly abused by her Saudi Arabian employer.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Zainul Majdi imposed a moratorium Friday on sending female domestic workers from the province to Saudi Arabia following the news on Sumiati. Sumiati was reportedly tortured and sustained cuts around her mouth that suggested she was attacked with scissors. She also reportedly has burns that may have been caused by a hot iron.

“Today [Friday], we’ll also call the Saudi Arabian ambassador, again. It is not because of the case of Ibu Sumiati, but another case that was just revealed last night [Thursday],” Marty said, referring to Kikim Komalasari, another Indonesian migrant worker who was found dead in garbage bin.

Kikim’s neck was reportedly slashed, and she also had cuts to the rest of her body.

Marty said it had taken longer than usual for the Kingdom’s police to inform the Indonesian Embassy about Kikim’s death because she was previously misidentified as a Bangladeshi.

“Saudi Arabia and Middle Eastern countries in general don’t recognize [bilateral] MoUs in the informal sector. They only want to sign ones on the formal sector,” Marty said.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar cited Saudi Arabia and Jordan as two countries Indonesia had not yet managed to sign good agreements on migrant workers with.

The result of the review might lead to a decision to halt the sending of workers to these countries, he added.

President Yudhoyono also said the government was mulling the prospect of equipping Indonesian migrant workers with cell phones to help them reach officers more easily when they face problems.

“Based on our experiences, we often receive reports on what has happened with our migrant workers [after it] is too late,” the President said.

Muhaimin explained afterward only migrant workers sent to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan had been equipped with cell phones.

“Cell phones should be a means of an open communication system included in the MoUs. Agents abroad must provide the phones, and the employers should not be allowed to take them [away],” the minister said.

Yudhoyono said currently about 4,300 Indonesian workers overseas are facing various hardships, ranging from being denied their salaries, overwork, and physical and even sexual abuse. Approximately 3.27 million Indonesians are now registered as migrant workers.

RI claims its second gold in the dragon boat

Matheos Viktor Messakh, The Jakarta Post, Guangzhou, China | Sat, 11/20/2010 8:18 AM | Headlines

Glorious moment: Members of Indonesian men’s dragon boat team celebrate with their gold medals after the medal ceremony for the men’s 500m straight race at the dragon boat event for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, on Friday. Antara/Andika Wahyu

 Perhaps Indonesia should start realizing what its strength is as one of the largest archipelagic countries in the world.

Until day seven of the 16th Asian Games (not 26th Games as reported on Friday on this page) the only two gold medals collected by the country were in the aquatic sport of the dragon boat — which resembles many traditional rowing sports in Indonesia.

The first gold was won on Thursday in the men’s 1,000-meter Straight Race, while the second gold was in the men’s 500-meter Straight Race on Friday.

Starting in lane four, the Indonesian team of 20 was left behind by Myanmar, who got off to an early start. But after 200 meters Indonesia took the lead, clocking in at 51.952 for the first 250 meters and hitting the finish line at 01:44.506.

Team Myanmar, the favorite, crossed the finish line second at 01:45.622, while host team China secured the bronze in 01:46.480.

“It felt good. I wasn’t exhausted during today’s competition. We will keep our energy up for tomorrow. We are equally good at both of the shorter races,” Indonesian team captain Asnawir said. “We hope we can get the gold in the 250-meter race.”

Team manager Djamal Uddin Young Mardinal said he and his squad were happy, despite not being the favorite to win in the class.

“In our last two meetings, at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games and the 2008 Asian Beach Games, we were always second [to Myanmar]. We actually just grabbed the gold from their hands,” Djamal told The Jakarta Post after the race.

After learning from defeat in their last two meetings, the team evaluated their strengths and weaknesses and focused on what they could do to defeat Myanmar, Djamal said.

Didin Rusdiana, one of the team members, said the victory was a result of seven months of training at Jatiluhur Dam in West Java, where the team focused on improving their power and endurance in order to defeat Myanmar.

“We trained five days a week, three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening. We rowed 15 to 20 kilometers each session with different weights and at different speeds,” the 31-year-old Bogor civil servant said.

The women’s team also shone in the 500-meter straight race after crossing the finish line at 02:02.875 to grab the silver medal, second only to the Chinese team. Thailand finished third.

Indonesia’s head coach Mohammad Suryadi, however, was not content with the women’s finish, blaming a lack of preparation for their failure to win gold.

“The men’s team has been preparing for this competition since late February, but the women’s team began in June,” Suryadi said.

The dragon boat competition is divided into six divisions, made up of men’s and women’s races in the 1,000-, 500- and 250-meter. Each team has 20 rowers, one steersman and one drummer.

The teams, with almost the same members, will compete in the men’s and women’s 250-meter races on Saturday.

Kido/Hendra claim fourth gold for Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/20/2010 9:50 PM | Sports

Beijing Olympic gold medalists Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan outpowered their arch-rivals Koo Kean Keat and Tan Boon Heong from Malaysia in the finals of the Asian Games at Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China, to claim gold medal for Indonesia, on Saturday evening. 

Kido/Hendra had to muster out their prowess to outlast the Malaysian duo in a breath-taking 16-21, 26-24, 21-19 game. 

The victory narrows the score to 4-5 for the Malaysians. The Malaysians who won gold medal in the previous quadrennial event in Doha, Qatar in 2006 still take the lead in their international meets.

With the victory, the Indonesian contingent collects four gold medals.

US, RI intensify volcanic talks ahead of Obama's arrival

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/08/2010 6:11 PM | Headlines

The United States and Indonesia are intensifying talks on volcanology ahead of US President Barack Obama's planned arrival in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Dino Patti Djalal, told a press conference in Jakarta on Monday that the US had expressed its intention of boosting cooperation with Indonesia on the issue, including providing assistance, following Mount Merapi's multiple eruptions, which have continued for two weeks now and have now killed more than 130 people.

Dino said the US would also soon send a team of volcanologists to Indonesia to discuss with local volcanologists the way to better predict future volcanic eruptions.

"Over the past 24 hours, we've been intensively communicating with the US on cooperation and support on volcanic issues in regards to the recent Merapi calamities," Dino said at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

He added that the partnership would be a follow up of the already established cooperation between Indonesian volcanologists and the Hawaii-based US Geological Survey, and would also include Japanese volcanologists.

"So this will be a trilateral partnership between Indonesia, the US and Japan," Dino said.

Obama ‘Moves Ahead’ with Planned Visit to Indonesia

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/08/2010 9:46 AM | Headlines

The Presidential Palace in Jakarta announced Sunday that US President Barack Obama would very likely continue with his plan to visit Indonesia, despite international airlines cancelling flights to and from Jakarta due to volcanic ash.

Presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post that there were no indications that Obama would cancel his trip.

Faizasyah said Obama was scheduled to arrive at Halim Perdana Kusumah Airport in East Jakarta at noon on Tuesday before meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta in the afternoon.

Obama will leave the country on Wednesday after delivering a public speech at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java.

“So far, everything is still scheduled according to plan. The two leaders will launch the comprehensive partnership and discuss bilateral, regional and global issues,” Faizasyah said.

“The meeting with Obama will be held in the afternoon after the President’s meeting with the Austrian president at noon,” he added.

Coinciding with Obama’s visit, Austrian President Heinz Fischer will also be in Indonesia on Tuesday and Wednesday. There have been likewise no changes in Fischer’s visit plans.

Faizasyah said Yudhoyono, who as of Sunday evening was still in Yogyakarta to monitor rescue and evacuation efforts at Mount Merapi, would return to Jakarta on Monday ahead of his meetings with the two foreign leaders.

Obama’s Indonesian visit is part of his 10-day Asian tour starting in India, where he is set to spend three days focusing on business and economic issues.

He will then head to Indonesia where he spent four years of his childhood before heading to South Korea for a G20 meeting and then Japan for an APEC meeting.

Obama has twice cancelled plans to visit Indonesia, citing US domestic issues. He had said he looked forward to visiting Indonesia with his wife Michelle and two daughters for more than a couple of days for what officials here claimed was a partly sentimental tour. This time he will only be accompanied by Michelle for a visit lasting less than 24 hours.

University of Indonesia international relations expert Hariyadi Wirawan said that although Obama seemed to still want to explore the “emotional aspect” of his visit to Indonesia, the situation in Indonesia and his time constraints would not enable him to do so.

“His visit will focus more on the US government’s efforts to indicate its additional agendas in Asia, especially regarding recent changes concerning the region, such as economic tension between the US and China,” Hariyadi told the Post.

He said Obama would likely focus only on security and economic issues in talks with Yudhoyono, adding that using Indonesia to bridge the gap between the West and the Muslim world was no longer high on agenda.

“The issue has lost momentum with the cancellation of the two previous visits. His short schedule indicates Obama is only visiting because he doesn’t want to appear to be playing down US-Indonesia ties by cancelling a third time,” Hariyadi said.

No changes yet to Obama's travel itinerary : Government says

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 11/07/2010 7:41 PM | World

The Presidential Palace in Jakarta announced Sunday that US President Barack Obama would likely carry on with his plan to visit Indonesia, despite a number of international airlines’ canceling flights to and from Jakarta to avoid volcanic ash.

Indonesia presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post that Obama would arrive at Halim Perdana Kusumah Airport in East Jakarta on Tuesday noon, before meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta later in the afternoon.

Obama will leave Indonesia the following day.

“So far [Obama's itinerary] is according to our original plan … The two leaders will launch a comprehensive partnership and discuss a number of bilateral, regional and global issues,” Faizasyah said.

“The meeting with Obama will be held in the afternoon after [Yudhoyono's] meeting with the Austrian President at noon,” he said.

Coinciding with Obama’s visit, Austrian President Heinz Fischer will also visit Indonesia on Tuesday and Wednesday. So far there have been no changes to Fischer’s visit plans either.

Faizasyah said Yudhoyono, who as of Sunday evening was still in Yogyakarta to monitor rescue and evacuation efforts for Mount Merapi victims and refugees, would return to Jakarta on Monday ahead of his meetings with the two foreign leaders.

Merapi ash disrupts int'l flights after Saturday eruption

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/06/2010 8:15 PM | Headlines

With only a few days before President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to Indonesia, several international airlines canceled flights into Jakarta on Saturday after a volcano hundreds of kilometers to the east unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century.

The cancellations also meant many passengers leaving Jakarta for overseas had to reschedule their trips.

International carriers began stopping flights to Jakarta at 4 p.m., Soekarno-Hatta International Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II corporate secretary Hari Cahyono told kompas.com. Many flights were put on hold in Malaysia and Singapore, he said.

 

“The presence of volcanic ash in the air surrounding Jakarta could cause severe damage to our aircraft and engines, which could impair the safety of our operations, including for passengers and crew," Malaysia Airlines operations director Azharuddin Osman told AP. 

Other carriers temporarily suspending flights included Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa and AirAsia. Domestic flights were unaffected. 

The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano in April forced the closure of most European airports for a week and led to the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights.

Merapi’s wrath claims more lives

The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Semarang | Sat, 11/06/2010 10:37 AM | Headlines

Burned to ash: An Indonesian Red Cross official examines the damage from the plumes of hot ash and lava from Mount Merapi at Bronggang village, Cangkringan, Sleman regency, in Yogyakarta on Friday. The 750 degree Celsius hot gas burned down several villages and killed more than 70 people from Thursday midnight. JP/Slamet Susanto

 Hot clouds of ash and lava from smoldering Mount Merapi claimed more victims Friday, torching at least two villages in Yogyakarta and killing dozens of more lives.

The death toll from the disaster climbed to 122 on Friday, forcing authorities to expand the danger zone to a 20-kilometer radius from the mountain.

Ash showers spread to most cities in Central Java and Yogyakarta, where Indonesia’s most active volcano is located, and even reached as far as Bandung and Bogor, West Java.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Geological Agency head R. Sukhyar said Merapi’s eruption could be heard up to 20 kilometers away while volcanic ash had reached as far as Bandung.

“Merapi’s eruption on Friday was the biggest in the country since Mount Galunggung’s eruption in 1982.

It is the biggest for Merapi in the past century,” he said Friday. Sukhyar said it was hard to calculate when the volcano would cease activity. “Do not ask us when it will stop. We really don’t know. Magma continues spilling.”

Before Friday’s eruption, the volcano had killed 44 people, mostly in its first eruption on Oct. 26, which destroyed two villages, Kaliadem and Kinahrejo, both in Cangkringan district, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.

Two more villages, Bronggang Suruh in Argomulyo and Slodokan in Wukirsari, were completely devastated by the volcano’s hot clouds of ash and lava Friday.

“We did not predict hot clouds would reach Argomulyo, which is not located inside the 20-kilometer danger zone,” said Argomulyo resident Nur Syamsu Hadi on Friday. “The blast was very frightening. It was so loud and strong.”

He said most residents did not flee to safety, believing they were in the safe zone. The subdistrict is just 14.2 kilometers from the crater.

“People should have known to leave areas within 20 kilometers of Merapi. We have informed them,” Sleman administration spokeswoman Endah Sri Widiastuti said.

Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) head Surono said the magma supply from Friday’s eruption had risen from a depth of 7 kilometers beneath the crater. Previously, the eruptions’ magma came from a 2-kilometer depth. “That’s why the tremor could be heard up to a radius of 20 kilometers from the volcano,” he said.

Friday’s eruption also disrupted traffic and forced Yogyakarta’s Adi Sutjipto Airport authority to temporarily close the airport Friday. It is scheduled to resume activity Saturday morning.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto said in a statement that all passengers can reschedule their flights or refund their tickets by calling the Garuda Call Center at 08041807807.

Retno, a passenger of a Yogyakarta-Jakarta flight, said she was told her flight was canceled. “I have to wait until tomorrow for my flight.”

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport authority also canceled all flights leaving for Yogyakarta for safety reasons. The cancelation affected a total of 41 flights bound for Yogyakarta, causing thousands of passengers to be stranded for hours at Terminal 1.

Panti Nugroho Hospital on Jl. Kaliurang also decided to close operation Friday and evacuated its patients to Panti Rapih Hospital in downtown Yogyakarta.

“We made the decision as the site is no longer safe,” said the hospital’s director, Tendean Arif Wibowo.

Rescuers worked hard to evacuate survivors and the dead, struggling to cope with thick, hot volcanic dust and smoke from burning material.

“Evacuating victims is difficult since the condition is still dangerous. We prioritize survivors so they can immediately be sent to hospital,” said Purwo Gogon of Yogyakarta’s search and rescue team.

Victims, with clothes, blankets and even mattresses fused to their skin from 750 degree Celsius heat, were evacuated on stretchers following the explosion, The Associated Press reported.

Soldiers joined rescue operations in hardest-hit Bronggang village, pulling at least 78 bodies from homes and streets blanketed by ash up to 30-centimeters deep.

“The heat surrounded us and there was white smoke everywhere,” Niti Raharjo, 47, who was thrown from his motorbike along with his 19-year-old son while trying to flee, told the AP.

“I saw people running, screaming in the dark, people were so scared they fell unconscious,” he said from his hospital bed. “There was an explosion that sounded like bombs during a war ... and it got worse with ash and debris raining down.”

Police officer Col. Tjiptono told AP that most bodies were found in front of houses and on streets, adding it appeared many villagers died from searing gas while trying to escape.

In Semarang, head of Central Java Disaster Mitigation Body Djarot Nugroho said the eruption was beyond the calculations of PVMBG, the authority responsible for the regional administrations’ disaster mitigation plan.

These miscalculations, he said, were responsible for the failure to implement disaster mitigation plans, mainly in regards to refugees.

“Makeshift tents are unavailable since the area where they were deployed is now included in the danger zone,” he said Friday.