The death toll from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia has risen to 22 after nine more bodies were discovered – with officials blaming hikers for getting too close to the crater. 

Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra spewed an ash tower 9,800 feet – taller than the volcano itself – into the sky on Sunday.

Hundreds of rescuers have worked for days to find the missing hikers, which numbered 10 on Tuesday before the local rescue agency’s announcement that most had been found, bringing the days-long search closer to an end.

‘Nine of 10 missing victims were found dead this afternoon and at the moment, they are being evacuated. There is one remaining victim currently in the search, Abdul Malik, head of Padang Search and Rescue Agency said. 

The head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, Hendra Gunawan, said Marapi has been at the second level of a four-tier alert system since 2011, and a three kilometre (1.86 mile) exclusion zone had been imposed around its crater.

He appeared to blame hikers on Monday for going too close to the crater, saying the agency recommended no human activities in that zone, and emphasised that ‘severe impacts’ were reported for victims within one to 1.5 kilometres from the crater.

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