Three Hikers Killed, 17 Rescued After Eruption on Indonesia’s Mount Dukono

Rescuers on Indonesia’s remote island of Halmahera recovered the bodies of two Singaporean hikers on Sunday, two days after a volcanic eruption on Mount Dukono killed three people in their group. The bodies of the men, aged 30 and 27, were located a few meters from where the first victim, an Indonesian female hiker named Enjel, was found on Saturday.

All three had been approximately 50 meters from the rim of the main crater when the eruption occurred early on Friday, May 8, 2026.

The eruption produced a thick ash column that rose about 10 kilometers into the air. The three deceased hikers were part of a group of 20 who ascended the 1,355-meter Mount Dukono in North Maluku province in defiance of safety restrictions. Seventeen hikers were safely evacuated hours after the May 8, 2026 eruption.

The 17 evacuated hikers included seven Singaporean nationals, and ten of those evacuated suffered minor burns. Two of the evacuated hikers joined the rescue operation and provided information to help locate the missing. The body of Enjel was found on Saturday, May 9, 2026, about 50 meters from the rim of the main crater, Iwan Ramdani, head of the local search and rescue department, said.

The bodies of the two Singaporean male hikers were found on Sunday, May 10, 2026, covered by thick layers of volcanic material. “The bodies were buried under deep, densely packed volcanic material that is difficult to dig through,” Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency, said.

” The densely packed volcanic material complicated evacuation efforts and slowed progress.

Nearly 100 personnel were involved in the search teams, which also involved more than 100 people supported by drones. The search operation focused on a 700 square meter area where clues were found. Search teams faced extreme terrain and continuing volcanic activity, and the operation was repeatedly disrupted by Mount Dukono’s continued volcanic activity.

Evacuation efforts on Sunday were monitored by volcanology officials as the volcano continued to spew ash, hot material and glowing rocks. The bodies of the three victims were transported to an emergency response post before being taken to Tobelo Regional Hospital for identification and further handling.

The National Disaster Management Agency closed the search and rescue operation. Authorities have banned all activities within a 4-kilometer danger zone around the crater. Mount Dukono is 1,355 meters tall and is one of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.