Indonesian authorities are still trying to locate three missing hikers after rescuing 17 people trapped by the volcanic eruption of Mount Dukono on Halmahera island on Friday (May 8), a local rescue agency official told Reuters.
The eruption on Halmahera island sent an ash cloud about 10km into the air, with no towns of villages near enough to face any immediate threat.
The local rescue agency earlier said that 20 hikers were trapped by the eruption, including nine Singaporeans and 11 Indonesians.
Iwan Ramdani, the head of the local rescue agency, told Reuters that 17 had been found and evacuated. It is unclear how many Singaporeans were rescued.
Iwan said the search is still on for the three hikers who remain missing.
Survivors said three people, including two Singaporeans, died in the eruption, local police chief Erlichson Pasaribu told Reuters. But the rescue agency has yet to confirm the deaths.
The bodies of the deceased were still on the mountain, he added.
At a press conference on Friday evening, the search and rescue agency said that the operation to locate the missing hikers have been halted and will continue on Saturday.
“This is not because we are unwilling to conduct a night search, but because, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Mount Dukono is expected to continue erupting,” said the agency. (CNA)
