Quick Read
- A volcanic eruption at Mount Dukono killed three people and left 20 hikers missing on Friday.
- The missing group includes nine Singaporean nationals and several Indonesian citizens.
- The eruption reached 10km in height despite a 4km exclusion zone and official closure of the area.
HALMAHERA (Azat TV) – A powerful volcanic eruption at Mount Dukono on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island has resulted in at least three confirmed deaths and initiated an urgent, multi-agency rescue operation for 20 missing hikers. The eruption occurred at 7:41 a.m. local time on Friday, May 8, 2026, propelling a massive column of volcanic ash 10 kilometers into the atmosphere.
Search and Rescue Efforts for Trapped Hikers
Local authorities, led by North Halmahera Police Chief Erlichson Pasaribu, confirmed that the fatalities include two foreign nationals and one Indonesian citizen. The search operation is currently focused on locating 20 hikers trapped near the summit following the sudden escalation in volcanic activity. Among those missing are nine Singaporean nationals, while the remaining hikers are Indonesian, according to Iwan Ramdani, head of the local rescue agency.
Personnel from the police and regional disaster response teams have been deployed to the slopes of the mountain to reach the missing individuals. Rescuers are operating under challenging conditions as the volcano remains active, with authorities warning of the secondary risk of volcanic mudflows, particularly if rainfall occurs in the region.
Exclusion Zone and Safety Protocols
The eruption has raised immediate questions regarding the efficacy of existing safety measures. Although the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation had maintained an exclusion zone extending 4 kilometers from the Malupang Warirang Crater since December, access to the mountain had been formally restricted to visitors since April 17 due to observed increases in seismic tremors. Despite these warnings, hikers were present on the mountain at the time of the blast.
Local guide Lexi Djangu, who managed to descend with his tour group before the eruption reached its peak, reported experiencing intense tremors while near the summit. The Indonesian volcanology agency has maintained the alert status at its third-highest level, signaling that the volcano remains volatile and that further eruptions could occur.
Impact on Regional Tourism
The incident is expected to trigger a review of regional tourism safety protocols on Halmahera. While the agency noted that there are currently no major disruptions to regional travel, the presence of international tourists within the exclusion zone highlights ongoing challenges in enforcing restricted areas during periods of heightened volcanic risk. Officials are currently prioritizing the retrieval of the missing hikers before reassessing the long-term access policies for the mountain.
The scale of the eruption, which sent ash 10 kilometers into the sky, underscores the high-risk nature of the current volcanic activity and suggests that the existing 4-kilometer exclusion zone may require expansion or more rigorous enforcement to prevent future incidents involving civilian hikers.