Sawt Falasteen - Indonesia rescuers search for hikers killed in volcanic eruption

Mount Dukono on Halmahera island erupted Friday morning, sending an ash cloud 10 kilometres (six miles) into the sky, with no towns or villages near enough to face any immediate threat.

The eruption killed two Singaporean and one Indonesian hiker, local police chief Erlichson Pasaribu said Friday, though the search and rescue agency still officially lists them as missing.

Seventeen other climbers, including more Singaporean nationals, were brought down safely.

The risky search for the bodies was called off late Friday as the volcano continued rumbling, according to search and rescue agency official Iwan Ramdani.

The operation resumed Saturday with more than 100 rescuers, including police officers and soldiers aided by drones, even as conditions remained dangerous.

"We are racing in this search. When the situation and condition is safe, we will approach the crater, and when an eruption occurs, we must secure all search personnel," Iwan said in a video statement recorded at the Dukono monitoring station in Mamuya village.

- Exclusion zone -

The volcano erupted several times on Saturday, once spewing an ash column about three kilometres (1.8 miles) high, the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) said.

Preliminary information suggested the two Singaporeans' bodies were about 20 to 30 metres (65 to 100 feet) from the rim of the crater, national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

The other hiker's whereabouts remains unknown.

Singaporean media quoted the foreign ministry saying it was working with the embassy in Jakarta to provide assistance to affected citizens and families.

Dukono, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, has been on level two of Indonesia's four-tiered alert system since 2008.

Authorities have imposed a four-kilometre exclusion zone around the crater since December 2024, according to the head of the government Geology Agency, Lana Saria.

Erlichson said Friday the hikers had ignored social media appeals and warning signs put up at the entrance of the trail to stay away.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide.

The Southeast Asian country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST