Two missing S’porean hikers confirmed dead in Indonesian volcano eruption

GALELA, North Halmahera – Two missing Singaporean hikers were confirmed dead in the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Dukono, the head of the local search-and-rescue agency told The Straits Times on May 10.

Mr Iwan Ramdani, head of the Ternate search-and-rescue office, confirmed the news to ST and said the two hikers’ bodies were found about 50m from the summit. The bodies, which were found next to each other, were later retrieved and taken down the mountain.

Mr Risman Umar, a resident who took part in the rescue operation, told ST before the bodies were retrieved: “Both victims were buried under the debris. Two large boulders were pinning and crushing their bodies.

“They were first found by the rescue team at about 12.40pm. Half of their bodies were buried under volcanic ash. The evacuation could not be carried out because of heavy rain, which made the volcanic material unstable and prone to landslides.”

In footage viewed by ST, Indonesian rescuers are seen working on a steep slope of black volcanic ash near the summit as rain and mist cover the mountain.

Soldiers, police officers and local volunteers gather around a narrow hole in the ash where the two hikers are believed to be buried. Some dig by hand, while others stand nearby on the slippery slope.

The two Singaporeans were part of a group of 20 – nine Singaporeans and 11 Indonesians – who trekked on May 7 despite a climbing ban imposed by the local authorities on April 17 and a standing 4km no-go exclusion zone around the crater. All except the two Singaporeans and an Indonesian were evacuated.

The two hikers had not been seen since Mount Dukono erupted on the morning of May 8, showering climbers near the summit with hot rocks, ash and volcanic debris. An Indonesian woman was found dead on May 9.

Names of the two Singaporeans have not been officially released but the families of Mr Timothy Heng, 30, and Mr Shahin Muhrez Abdul Hamid, 27, told the media that they had been informed.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on May 10 that it is in close contact with the families to facilitate the identification of the two bodies.

MFA also expressed its deep appreciation to the Indonesian authorities, particularly the joint search-and-rescue team comprising more than 150 personnel, for their recovery efforts under difficult and hazardous conditions.

The first obstacle came long before rescuers could reach the crater of one of Indonesia’s most volatile volcanoes.

The Indonesian search-and-rescue team set out once again for Mount Dukono just after dawn on May 10, but heavy rain overnight had turned the narrow dirt road leading to the mountain into deep mud.

From the main volcano monitoring post in Mamuya village, it is about 10km to the first observation post at the foot of Mount Dukono. The route cuts through dense forest and plantations, and large sections are accessible only by rough dirt tracks.

About 5km from Mamuya, the motorcycle that an ST journalist was on was forced to turn back as the road became impassable because of flooding and thick mud left by the rain.

Higher up the mountain, conditions were no better.

“The rescue team had reached Post 5 (around noon local time), which is around 1km from the crater, but they turned back a little towards the shelter because it was raining and flooding up there,” said Mr Mochamad Thilio, a Tobelo officer from Indonesia’s Brimob police mobile brigade who was coordinating communications with the team.

Two small mounds of volcanic sand near the crater of Mount Dukono, just 3m from where the Indonesian woman was found dead, became the focus of recovery efforts.

Indonesia’s search-and-rescue agency, Basarnas, said on May 10 that the deployed personnel were divided into four search-and-rescue units to comb an area extending about 1.25km from the point where the hikers were last seen.

Mr Iwan said rescuers were working under dangerous conditions as the volcano continued to erupt intermittently.

“The safety of the rescue team remains the priority because weather conditions and volcanic activity continue to produce hot ash and other material,” he said.

Members of a joint rescue team found the Indonesian woman at about 2.30pm local time on May 9, around 50m from the rim of the crater.

Heavy rain had forced rescuers to stop work and take shelter after hours of combing through deep volcanic sand. When the rain eased, only the lower half of the woman’s body, from her feet to her waist, was visible above the ash.

Her remains were recovered and taken to the eruption command post before being transferred to a hospital in Tobelo.

Footage released by the agency showed more than a dozen Indonesian rescuers moving in single file through dense mountain forest, their orange helmets and uniforms standing out against giant ferns and moss-covered trees.

On the narrow and muddy trail, they stepped carefully over fallen logs and slick volcanic soil as they carried the victim on a stretcher down the mountain slopes.

The scene underscored the immense difficulty of the operation to recover the victims of the eruption of Mount Dukono, an active volcano on the remote island of Halmahera in eastern Indonesia.

On May 10, after the remaining bodies were recovered, Major-General Dody Triwinarto, regional military commander for Maluku and North Maluku, told reporters: “Our mission is complete. We have transported all the deceased victims.”