{"id":782533,"date":"2026-05-08T18:45:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/782533\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:45:17","slug":"at-least-3-hikers-killed-by-volcano-eruption-on-indonesian-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/782533\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 3 hikers killed by volcano eruption on Indonesian island"},"content":{"rendered":"

JAKARTA, Indonesia \u2014 An explosive eruption of Mount Dukono on a remote Indonesian<\/a> island killed three hikers, authorities said Friday.<\/p>\n

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About 20 climbers set out Thursday to ascend the nearly 1,355-meter (4,445-foot) volcano on the island of Halmahera, in defiance of safety restrictions, said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu.<\/p>\n

They became stranded when Dukono erupted at 7:41 a.m. local time, spewing a thick ash column that rose about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) above the summit. The eruption was recorded on seismographs for more than 16 minutes, Indonesia\u2019s Geological Agency said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were aware that climbing was prohibited as the mountain is the restricted zone due to its high alert status, but insisted on going ahead,\u201d Pasaribu said in a television interview.<\/p>\n

Rescue teams were deployed after receiving an emergency signal from the mountain area. Three men \u2014 two Singaporean and one Indonesian national \u2014 died at the scene, Pasaribu said.<\/p>\n

As of Friday afternoon, 14 climbers including seven foreign nationals had been safely evacuated. Five of those evacuated were reported injured. Rescue teams continued to search for other climbers believed to be attempting to descend.<\/p>\n

The bodies had not yet been recovered because continued eruptions and dangerous conditions prevented rescue teams from reaching the location.<\/p>\n

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation has long banned activities within a 2.5 mile radius of Dukono\u2019s crater, citing hazards such as volcanic bombs, ashfall and toxic gases. Officials believe the hikers were inside the restricted zone at the time of the eruption.<\/p>\n

Despite warnings on social media and signs at the site, \u201cmany people remain determined to climb, driven by the desire to create online content,\u201d Pasaribu said.<\/p>\n

Mount Dukono is one of Indonesia\u2019s most active volcanoes and has been erupting almost continuously since 1933. Indonesia sits along the Pacific \u201cRing of Fire,\u201d an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity, and is home to more than 120 active volcanoes.<\/p>\n

Authorities also warned of possible secondary hazards, including volcanic mudflows, especially during heavy rain, which could travel along rivers flowing from the volcano\u2019s slopes.<\/p>\n

Volcanic activity at Dukono remains high, and authorities said it was at the second highest alert level. Authorities said the volcano has shown an increase in explosive magmatic eruptions since late March, with nearly 200 eruptions recorded since March 30 and an average of about 95 eruptions a day.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriday\u2019s eruption was among the strongest during this period,\u201d said Lana Saria, who heads Indonesia\u2019s Geology Agency at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. She added that ash clouds ranging from white to gray and black in color were being blown northward.<\/p>\n

She warned that ashfall could affect nearby settlements, including the town of Tobelo, raising health risks and disrupting transportation and daily life.<\/p>\n

Officials urged residents, tourists and climbers to remain calm, follow official guidance and avoid restricted areas as monitoring of Mount Dukono continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JAKARTA, Indonesia \u2014 An explosive eruption of Mount Dukono on a remote Indonesian island killed three hikers, authorities…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":782534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[50,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-782533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}