Three Hikers Killed in Mount Dukono Eruption on Halmahera Island

Mount Dukono, an active volcano on Halmahera island in Indonesia’s North Maluku province, erupted at 07:41 local time on 8 May 2026, producing an ash plume that rose 10 km into the sky. Three hikers died during the eruption. The victims were two Singaporean men aged 30 and 27 and an Indonesian woman from the city of Ternate, according to North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu.

Twenty hikers were on the slopes of the 1,335-metre volcano when the eruption occurred. Nine were from Singapore and the remainder were Indonesian, Pasaribu said. Fifteen climbers descended safely several hours after the early-morning eruption. All survivors from the group of 20 were located by rescuers and most were evacuated from the mountain and taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The bodies of the three deceased hikers remained on the mountain as of Friday afternoon on 8 May 2026, Pasaribu told reporters at a volcano monitoring station in Mamuya village. Two porters stayed behind on the mountain to assist in locating the bodies.

Retrieval efforts were hampered by repeated eruptions, difficult terrain and strong blasts from the volcano. The operation to reach the crater was paused as night fell on Friday evening and was set to resume on Saturday.

The group’s guide and a porter were taken to the police station. Mount Dukono is currently on level 2 of Indonesia’s four-tiered alert system. The area within 4 km of the Malupang Warirang crater has been closed to tourists and climbers since December 2024, and the climbing ban remained in effect on 17 April 2026.

Pasaribu said local residents understand the warnings and do not want to climb. “Many hikers are foreign tourists who wish to create content,” he said. Warnings had been disseminated through social media and on banners at trail entrances. The eruption occurred on Halmahera island east of Sulawesi. No towns or villages were close enough to face any immediate threat from the ash cloud.