TERNATE, North Maluku (Indonesia): Indonesian search teams climbed the ash-covered slopes of Mount Dukono at sunrise on Saturday (May 9), resuming the search for three hikers, including two Singaporeans, who were stranded near the summit of the volcano after a powerful eruption a day earlier.
The three are feared dead, but rescuers and residents said there remains a faint hope they could still be found alive.
“(The search) has been resumed,” Iwan Ramdani, the head of the Ternate search and rescue office, told The Straits Times on the morning of May 9. “The joint search and rescue team consists of 103 personnel. Of course, the hope is that the victims can be found alive today.”
In Ternate, news of the disaster spread quickly through the usually quiet island city, where residents followed updates from Mount Dukono with concern and hope. Yet some appeared unfazed. At Sultan Babullah Airport, several travellers, including foreigners carrying large backpacks, appeared to be preparing for hiking trips despite the unfolding rescue operation.
“It is very sad news,” ride-hailing motorcycle driver Fakir Abdullah told The Straits Times. “I heard there were foreigners among the hikers, and one of them was from Ternate and worked as a translator.”
The three missing were part of a group of 20 hikers – nine Singaporeans and 11 Indonesians – who trekked on May 7 despite a climbing ban imposed by local authorities on April 17 and a standing 4km no-go exclusion zone around the crater, which volcanologists expanded from 3km in 2024.
They found themselves trapped on one of Indonesia’s most volatile volcanoes in North Halmahera, in the eastern province of North Maluku, after Mount Dukono erupted on the morning of May 8, sending a thick column of volcanic ash about 10km into the sky.
The search operation, involving personnel from Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the military, police, volcanology officers, medical workers and local volunteers, was halted on the evening of May 8 as night fell, visibility deteriorated, and officials warned that further eruptions could occur at any time.
Two members of the hiking group who escaped unharmed accompanied rescuers and helped retrace the route.
According to the BNPB, teams were searching several areas around the crater and along the main hiking route.
On May 8, one search team followed the main trail towards the summit, reaching a point 500m below the crater, and used a drone to scan the terrain from above. A second team searched along a river channel near the summit, an area authorities believed the hikers might have passed through while trying to escape.
It was a risky mission, and at one point the search was briefly paused after volcano observers warned that incandescent lava and other volcanic material could be hurled up to 1.5km from the crater.
By May 9, around 15 people had been rescued safely, according to Indonesian authorities, though agencies continued to release differing figures as rescue efforts unfolded.
Mount Dukono is an active volcano that, like many others in Indonesia, has remained at Level 2 (Waspada) – the second-lowest of four alert levels – since 2008. While Mount Dukono’s stark volcanic terrain remains a powerful draw for regional adventurers, its remote location and nearly constant ash emissions present a volatile environment.
Police said the group’s guide and porter were being questioned and could face criminal charges for allegedly leading hikers into a restricted zone. - The Straits Times/ANN
