Police say the hikers ignored a climbing ban imposed after recent eruptions

NEED TO KNOW

• Three people have died and 15 others were taken to the hospital after a volcano erupted in Indonesia
• In total, 20 people in total were hiking in the area, with two staying on the volcano to help search teams recover the bodies of those who died
• A climbing ban had been in place at Mount Dukono after previous recent eruptions, with local police saying they’ll question those who accompanied the hikers

Three hikers have died after Indonesia's Mount Dukono volcano erupted on Friday, May 8.

The volcano, on the island of Halmahera in the east of the country, erupted at 7:41 a.m. local time, sending a column of ash over six miles into the sky, the BBC reported.

North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu told the broadcaster that three people, one local resident and two people from Singapore, died in the eruption. The Indonesian individual was from Ternate, a city in the same province as Mount Dukono.

Their bodies remain on the volcano, with eruptions and difficult terrain preventing them from being evacuated, Pasaribu told the BBC.

A further 17 hikers, including nine Singaporeans, were reported missing, with Basarnas, Indonesia's search and rescue agency, and local police deployed to search for them.

At about 5 p.m. local time, Pasaribu told the BBC that all surviving hikers had been found, with 15 people evacuated and taken to the hospital. He added that two porters from the hiking group stayed on the mountain to help rescuers with the recovery of the bodies of the hikers who died.

The Volcanological Survey of Indonesia said in a statement, via the BBC, that it has advised tourists and hikers to avoid activities within a 2.5-mile radius of the volcano's main crater since December 2024, due to threats of rock, ash and lava.

The BBC reported that the group of hikers entered Mount Dukono despite a climbing ban that has been in place for around two weeks, with warnings present on social media and at trail entrances. Pasaribu said that police will question those who joined the hikers up the mountain.

A statement from Basarnas added that there could be "possible negligence by tourism operators or individuals," and confirmed that the government is continuing to gather information on the incident.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Indonesian National Police, Basarnas and BNPB, Indonesia's national disaster management agency, for further updates but did not immediately hear back.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Mount Dukono has erupted almost 200 times since March 2025. The Volcanological Survey of Indonesia lists it at Level Two out of four tiers, indicating that people should exercise caution.

In April, a video of the volcano erupting while hikers were exploring the area nearby went viral, Singaporean network Channel NewsAsia reported.

Source link