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BERASTAGI, Indonesia (AP) — A group of hikers is likely to have found the body of a German who went missing last week while climbing a dormant volcano in Indonesia, a rescue official said Thursday.
Wolter Klaus, 48, from Odenburg city, was reported missing by his hotel on June 22, a day after he began what should have been a day hike up Mount Sibayak.
Search and rescue official Budiawan said the body was discovered Thursday by five university students who were camping on the 2,200-meter (7,200-foot) mountain in western Indonesia.
A 45-member team of rescuers was dispatched to the location but hasn't reached the body yet because of bad weather, said Budiawan, who uses a single name.
"Therefore, at the time being I have to stop short of confirming that the body was of Klaus," Budiawan said.
About 150 soldiers, police and volunteers backed by a police helicopter searched for Klaus after he was reported missing, but were hampered by the rugged, forested terrain and bad weather.
Hendra, one the five students, said the body was about 20 meters (12 feet) from a waterfall.
"His left leg was seemed to be cut off while there were some wounds on the body," said Hendra, who also uses one name.
In 2013, rescuers found a Japanese hiker alive in a ravine four days after he fell from a cliff on Mount Sibayak.
Mount Sibayak is one of about 130 volcanoes in Indonesia. Its last major eruption was in 1881, but its geothermal activity remains high.
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