Three Dead! Mount Dukono Eruption in Indonesia Claims Lives as Rescue Teams Rush to Aid Stranded Climbers
At least three people died when Mount Dukono in Indonesia's North Maluku Province erupted on May 8, killing two Singaporean climbers and one local guide among 20 people on the volcano. Rescue teams are searching for climbers stranded higher
At least three people have died in a severe eruption of Mount Dukono on Halmahera Island, part of the Maluku Islands in North Maluku Province, according to Indonesian police reports on May 8. North Halmahera Police Commander Erlickson Pasaribu stated that the three fatalities include two Singaporean nationals and one local from Ternate Island. Twenty climbers were on Mount Dukono during the eruption, including nine foreign nationals. Besides the two Singaporeans who died, seven other foreign climbers safely descended the mountain, though the three bodies remain on the volcano due to ongoing eruptions. Iwan Ramdani, head of the local rescue unit, told Reuters that nine of the climbers are Singaporean and the rest are Indonesian. Authorities have deployed dozens of personnel, including police, military, and civilian volunteers, to search for climbers stranded higher up the mountain following the eruption. Indonesia's national search and rescue agency received the first emergency alert around 8:55 a.m. local time after detecting a distress signal from a Garmin device, an American technology company product. According to the National Disaster Mitigation Office, Mount Dukono first erupted at 7:41 a.m., followed by a Level 2 alert declaration indicating elevated volcanic activity that has persisted since March 29.
