Search for hikers after Indonesian volcano erupts

Indonesian authorities are trying to find three missing hikers after rescuing 17 people trapped by a volcanic eruption.

The country’s volcanology department said Mount Dukono, located on Halmahera island in North Maluku province, erupted on Friday morning, sending volcanic ash up to 10 km into the sky.

The agency maintains the alert status on the mountain at the third-highest level, the agency’s chief, Lana Saria, said in a statement.

The video published by the agency showed a huge cloud of hot ash rising from the crater and covering the slopes of the volcano.

Volcanic activity at Mount Dukono decreased in 2025, but picked up again in late March with approximately 200 small-scale eruptions.

The local rescue agency said earlier that 20 hikers, including nine Singaporeans and 11 Indonesians, were trapped by the explosion.

Iwan Ramdani, head of the local rescue agency, told Reuters that 17 people were found and evacuated.

Iwan said the search for the three missing hikers continues.

Survivors said three people, including two Singaporeans, were killed in the blast, local police chief Erlichson Pasaribu told Reuters, but the rescue agency has yet to confirm the deaths.

Climbing Mount Dukono has been banned since an earlier eruption in 2024, Pasaribu said.

Authorities warned residents to avoid any activity within 4 kilometers of the crater.

There are no reports yet of flight disruptions caused by the explosion.

Indonesia is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where seismic activity is high across various tectonic plates.