Indonesia stops search for three missing hikers as Mount Dukono eruption continues

JAKARTA - Indonesian authorities halted for the night a search for three missing hikers trapped by the continuing volcanic eruption of Mount Dukono, on Halmahera island, a local rescue agency official told reporters on Friday.

"The search has been temporarily closed today and will resume tomorrow, not because we don't want to search at night, but because Mount Dukono will continue to erupt," Iwan Ramdani, the head of the local rescue agency, said.

Officials have evacuated 17 people, of whom seven were Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians.

The three hikers still missing were identified as two Singaporeans and one Indonesian.

Mount Dukono, located in North Maluku province, erupted on Friday at 07:41 a.m. local time (2241 GMT Thursday), spewing volcanic ash as high as 10 km (6.21 miles) into the sky, the country's volcanology agency said.

Cellphone footage shot by a witness and verified by Reuters showed hikers scrambling down the mountain, with a huge plume of smoke and ash rising into the sky behind them.

A tour guide can be heard saying, in English: "Oh I hope they're alive. Dukono always dangerous. When it's really quiet, it means a big eruption is coming."

The volcanology agency maintained the alert status at the mountain at its third-highest level, agency head Lana Saria said in a statement.

Footage from the agency showed a huge cloud of hot ash billowing from the crater and blanketing the slopes of the volcano.

Volcanic activities in Mount Dukono decreased last year but picked up again at the end of March, with nearly 200 small-scale eruptions.

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

Pasaribu said climbing in Mount Dukono had been banned since an earlier eruption in 2024.

Authorities warned residents to refrain from any activities within 4 km (2.5 miles) of the crater.

The volcanology agency also warned of the risks of volcanic mudflow when it rains.

There were no reports yet of flight disruptions caused by the eruption.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an area of high seismic activity atop various tectonic plates.

- Ananda Teresia and Dewi Kurniawati; Editing by David Stanway and Alex Richardson/Reuters