JustUpdateOnline.com – A catastrophic volcanic event at Mount Dukono on Halmahera Island has claimed the lives of at least three mountaineers and left several others unaccounted for. The eruption, which occurred on Friday morning in the North Maluku province, propelled a massive column of volcanic ash approximately 10 kilometers into the atmosphere.
Local law enforcement confirmed the fatalities, noting that the deceased include one resident from the nearby island of Ternate and two foreign nationals. While official identification is ongoing, search and rescue teams are currently working to locate a group of missing individuals. Reports indicate that out of the roughly 20 people believed to be on the mountain at the time of the blast, nine are citizens of Singapore.
The disaster unfolded at approximately 7:41 AM local time. According to Lana Saria, head of the Geological Agency, the eruption was powerful enough to produce audible "booming" sounds that echoed across the region. Authorities have warned that the resulting hot ash clouds pose a severe respiratory threat to the public and could lead to significant logistics and travel complications.
Mount Dukono is currently categorized under a Level 3 (Siaga) alert, which is the third-highest warning status in Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic monitoring system. Since April 17, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) had strictly prohibited any activity within a four-kilometer radius of the Malupang Warirang crater due to escalating volcanic instability. It appears the hikers were within this restricted zone when the summit exploded.
Iwan Ramdani, the regional head of search and rescue (SAR), informed the media that a large-scale operation involving dozens of personnel and police officers has been launched to find the missing climbers. Despite the intensity of the ash plume, aviation officials have not yet issued any orders to ground flights in the North Maluku corridor.
Located on the island of Halmahera, Mount Dukono is one of Indonesia’s most active peaks. This fatal incident follows a previous eruption on April 6; however, during that earlier event, a group of hikers managed to escape the area without any injuries. Unfortunately, Friday’s activity proved to be far more lethal.