By Eloisa Lopez
TALISAY, Philippines, Jan 16 (Reuters) - At the crack of
dawn on Thursday, Manolito Malaluan set out with a band of
rescuers to ferry to safety two horses trapped on a Philippine
island where a volcano has been spewing ash for days.
They took a motorboat across a lake, defying official
warnings to stay out of a danger zone around the Taal volcano,
one of the most active in the southeast Asian nation, as they
scrambled to reach the animals.
"Both of them were neighing when they saw me," Malaluan, 23,
told Reuters, after reaching safer ground with his horses, named
Cristina and Bakasan. "They were happy because I came back."
More than 57,000 people have abandoned homes on the volcanic
island and its environs, usually thronged by tourists, but many
have also drifted back to check on animals and possessions.
Authorities have thrown a 14-km (9-mile) exclusion zone
around the volcano, with experts warning that an eruption could
bring a devastating rain of rocks and magma and unleash a
tsunami in the surrounding lake.
The horses were among 3,000 living on the island, most
earning money for their owners by carrying tourists to the rim
of the volcano crater.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
As their sole means of livelihood, many islanders depend on
the survival of the animals, but the future looks uncertain.
"We won't have food on our tables if not for them," said Jun
Despededa, 21, who used water from the lake to scrub volcanic
ash from his horse's white coat. "I don't know what I would do
now after what happened."
About 1,000 horses, as well as cows, goats and pigs were
among the animals left behind by residents scurrying to safer
areas for fear of a bigger eruption.
One horse owner urged authorities to allow the rescue of as
many animals as possible, taking advantage of what appeared to
be a lull in volcano activity, but was rebuffed by the coast
guard patrolling the lake.
Horses were among the more than 70 animals brought to safety
since Wednesday by another group of rescuers, led by a police
maritime unit, but it has since been told to halt its
activities, because of the eruption threat.
Many of the horses that had made it out looked exhausted and
hungry, with at least one barely able to stand.
While Taal appeared to be calming down on Thursday,
seismologists said the danger of an eruption remained high and
authorities warned evacuees to stay away.
The Philippines lies on the "Ring of Fire," a belt of
volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is also prone to
earthquakes.
One of the world's smallest active volcanoes, Taal has
erupted more than 30 times in the past five centuries, most
recently in 1977. An eruption in 1911 killed more than 1,300
people and one in 1754 lasted for six months.