Three people have been killed and 20 hikers remain trapped after Mount Dukono erupted on Halmahera island in eastern Indonesia on Friday, authorities said.
“There are three dead, two foreigners and one resident of Ternate island,” said Erlychson Pasarimbu, the regional police chief.
Indonesian authorities have deployed dozens of rescue personnel, including police, to search for the 20 hikers stranded by the eruption, nine of whom are Singaporean and the remainder Indonesian, said Iwan Ramdani, head of the local rescue agency.
Mount Dukono, located in North Maluku province, erupted at 07:41 local time, spewing volcanic ash 10 kilometres into the sky. Indonesia’s volcanology agency maintained the alert level at its third highest and warned residents to stay at least four kilometres from the crater. Authorities also cautioned of volcanic mudflow risks in the event of rain.
No flight disruptions had been reported as of Friday.
(with information from Reuters)
