Volcano Eruption On Indonesian Island Leaves Three Dead
Three people hiking on Indonesia’s Mount Dukono have died after the volcano erupted on Friday morning.
Videos and photos of the eruption show the volcano on North Maluku island blasting an ash column 10 kilometers (six miles) into the sky.
The three victims were among a party of 20 Singaporeans and Indonesians that hiked the peak despite regulations. Rescuers eventually identified the remaining members of the group and evacuated them from the mountain.
The volcano has erupted over 200 times since March of last year. Officials had previously advised against ascending the peak owing to safety concerns.
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The most recent eruption occurred at 07:41 local time (22:41 GMT Thursday), as several hikers were on the mountain for an early morning excursion.
According to Indonesian officials, two Singaporeans and one citizen of the adjacent city of Ternate died. Both of the foreign victims are believed to be men, one aged 30 and the other 27. The local victim is claimed to be female, but no other information was provided.
According to North Halmahera police commander Erlichson Pasaribu, the bodies of the three deceased remain on the mountain, despite the fact that the majority of the trekking party has been safely removed and transported to hospital.
Two of the group’s porters remained up the mountain to assist rescue workers in finding the remains.
According to one local resident assisting rescues, Mount Dukono continued to erupt volcanic material from its crater on Friday afternoon.
Aldy Salabia reported to BBC Indonesian that they were planning for a rescue effort at a local mountain refuge.”From the shelter, we can see ash and rock material being ejected,” he said.
Erlichson stated that the extraction of the bodies had been delayed by continuous eruptions, rough terrain, and powerful blasts from the volcano.
The operation to reach the volcano’s crater, where the victims’ bodies are believed to be, was delayed as night fell on Friday evening, with Erlichson stating that it would resume on Saturday.
Aside from the 20-member trekking group, eyewitness sources claim that there were additional hikers on the peak.
A guide who was atop Mount Dukono with two guests during the eruption told BBC Indonesian that tremendous pressure had been building inside the volcano for days. When Dukono hasn’t erupted in a few days, you need to be cautious,” he said, describing the eruption as “big” and “extremely strong.”
As they were hiking up, he saw one group of people at the edge of the crater, as well as another group about 50m from the crater who were filming drone videos.
Then, “I heard deep tremors. So I decided to immediately descend with the guests. And in the end, the three of us were safe.”
As they were descending he saw many hikers were still at the summit, he added.
Indonesian officials said they had issued warnings against climbing Mount Dukono which were widely disseminated through social media as well as on banners at trail entrances, but some hikers had ignored them.
Indonesian’s search and rescue agency Barsanas said that initial discussions among authorities found there may have been “possible negligence by tourism operators or individuals” who proceeded with climbing Mount Dukono despite the warnings.
“The government is continuing to gather information to establish a complete account of the incident,” it said.
Mount Dukono is currently listed at level two out of the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia’s four-tier volcano alert system, which indicates increased activity and a need for caution.
The agency said that since December 2024, it has recommended tourists and climbers to refrain from activities within a 4km radius of Mount Dukono’s main crater, where there are threats of ejected rocks, ash and lava.
