Two Singaporeans among 3 hikers feared dead after Mount Dukono eruption in Indonesia

JAKARTA – Two Singaporeans are among three hikers reported to have died after a volcano erupted on Halmahera island in Indonesia’s North Maluku province.

Local police told KompasTV on May 8 that 20 hikers, including nine foreigners, were on Mount Dukono when it erupted earlier in the day. Seven of the nine foreigners were safe as at 2pm local time.

As many as 17 hikers have been safely evacuated, though the reported number differs among agencies, as the situation continues to unfold.

“The latest information is that there are three fatalities. Two of them are foreign citizens from Singapore. The other one is a Ternate resident,” said North Halmahera Police Chief Erlichson Pasaribu, referring to a city in North Maluku south of Mount Dukono.

He added that the three missing hikers believed dead have not been located.

The Straits Times was not able to independently verify information on the ground immediately.

Rescuers suspended their search for the missing trio at nightfall due to the risk of further eruptions on one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, which has been erupting almost continuously for decades. Search and rescue operations will resume at daybreak on May 9.

In response to queries from ST, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry and the Singapore embassy in Jakarta were working closely with the Indonesian authorities to gather relevant information and render consular assistance and support to the affected Singaporeans and their families.

According to Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), eruptions on May 8 first started at 7.41am. Mount Dukono has been on Level 2 alert status, indicating heightened volcanic activity, since March 29. At the alert level, the authorities prohibit activities within a 4km radius of the crater.

The Singaporeans were part of a hiking group, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Mr Pasaribu said the Mamuya hiking route used by the group had been officially closed since April 17 because of heightened volcanic activity, but some hikers may have ignored warnings and gone up the mountain. He added that the group’s guide and a porter were being questioned by police and could face possible criminal charges for taking hikers into a prohibited area.

At a press briefing late on May 8, Indonesia’s volcanology agency said the authorities had expanded the exclusion zone around Mount Dukono from 3km to 4km in 2024 because of ongoing volcanic activity.

Officials added that the volcano remains active and can erupt at any time. The agency said it had repeatedly reminded local governments about the 4km exclusion zone through regular advisories issued every two weeks.

Confusion and anxiety

BNPB said in an afternoon update on May 8 that the seven Singaporean survivors were two men and five women aged between 29 and 37. The national agency added that rescuers were still searching for two Singaporean men aged 27 and 30, without elaborating.

BNPB said the 20 people reportedly on the volcano also included three residents from nearby Ternate and eight local residents from areas around Mount Dukono. The Indonesian survivors ranged in age from 22 to 48.

The head of the Ternate search and rescue office, Mr Iwan Ramdani, had initially said on May 8 that 17 hikers had been evacuated to the regional hospital in the town of Tobelo, after a rescue operation lasting about four hours.

But in an evening update to local media after search operations had been called off for the day, Mr Iwan said 15 people – seven Singaporeans and eight Indonesians – had been evacuated safely from the mountain.

Local media reports said two climbers had accompanied rescue personnel to help identify and retrace the route previously taken by the group near the summit area.

Still, the differing figures reflect the fast-moving nature of rescue efforts and the challenges of verifying information on the ground.

The authorities said that evacuation efforts were being hampered by difficult terrain, volcanic ash exposure and the risk of further eruptive material being ejected from the volcano.

Strong explosions

Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency Basarnas said it first received an emergency alert at about 8.55am local time after a distress signal was detected from a Garmin device near the volcano.

The signal was later confirmed by the head of Mamuya village in North Halmahera, according to a statement from the Ternate Search and Rescue Office.

Mr Iwan said rescuers from the Tobelo search-and-rescue post, based in the North Halmahera town closest to Mount Dukono, were deployed shortly after receiving the report, alongside police officers, military personnel and local residents.

Volcano monitoring officer Bambang Sugiono told ST that Mount Dukono sent a column of ash about 10km into the air during the eruption on May 8, with white, grey and black ash clouds observed drifting northwards. He added that weak to strong explosive sounds could still be heard as at Friday afternoon.

Concerns about safety on Mount Dukono had resurfaced after videos from an April 6 eruption went viral online. The footage showed hikers near the crater scrambling for safety as ash and debris shot into the air.

In the videos, local guides could be heard shouting at hikers not to run downhill. “Don’t go down, come up! Up, up, up,” one guide yelled, as some trekkers panicked and tried to descend the slope.

Reports at the time said guides believed remaining higher up was safer than moving into the path of ash, debris and volcanic gases travelling downslope.