INDONESIA: At least three hikers, including two foreign nationals, were killed and 10 others went missing after Mount Dukono erupted on Friday on Indonesia’s eastern Halmahera island, sending a massive ash cloud nearly 10 kilometres into the sky, according to local authorities.
North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu told Kompas TV that the dead included two foreigners and one resident of Ternate island in eastern Indonesia.
He said seven people had managed to descend safely from the mountain, while 10 others remained missing in an area that had already been declared off-limits to visitors last month after scientists detected increased volcanic activity.
According to Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), five climbers were injured during the eruption.
BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari said joint rescue teams from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) were continuing search and evacuation operations in the mountain region as volcanic activity intensified.
Erlichson said rescue efforts were being hampered by difficult terrain, as vehicles could only travel part of the route up the mountain.
“The rest of the way, the victims need to be carried on stretchers. There is also still rumbling from the eruption, which is slowing down the evacuation process,” he said.
Lana Saria, who heads Indonesia’s government Geology Agency, said the early morning eruption was accompanied by a loud booming sound and a thick column of smoke rising around 10 kilometres above the summit of Mount Dukono.
She warned that the ash cloud was drifting northward, putting residential areas and Tobelo City at risk of volcanic ash rain.
Lana added that the smoke posed serious health risks to the public and could also disrupt transportation services in the region.
Indonesia frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area where several tectonic plates meet.
The Southeast Asian archipelago is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes.
Mount Dukono is currently placed at level two on Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic alert system. Since December, the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has advised tourists and climbers to stay at least four kilometres away from the volcano’s Malupang Warirang Crater.
Police chief Erlichson said the hikers had ignored repeated warnings shared on social media as well as warning signs installed at the entrance to the hiking trail.
He added that local residents generally avoided climbing the volcano, while many foreign tourists continued visiting the area in hopes of creating content for social media platforms.