At Least 20 Hikers Stranded After Indonesia's Mount Dukono Eruption, SAR Activated

By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil

JAKARTA, May 8 (Bernama) -- At least 20 hikers, including Singaporean nationals, are believed to have been injured and stranded following an eruption of Mount Dukono in eastern Indonesia, prompting a joint evacuation operation by search and rescue authorities on Friday.

Head of the Ternate Search and Rescue (SAR) Office Iwan Ramdani said the Basarnas Command Centre received an emergency SOS signal from a Garmin device at around 9.56am local time, originating from the Mount Dukono area in North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku.

He said the SOS was later verified by the head of Mamuya village near the volcano, who informed authorities that a group of hikers had sustained injuries after being affected by the volcano’s eruptive activity.

“In response to the incident, the Rescue Team from the Tobelo SAR Post together with other SAR personnel were immediately deployed to the Mount Dukono Observation Post,” he said in a statement.

Iwan said the SAR team later coordinated with the North Halmahera Police and the regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) before proceeding towards the location to evacuate the victims while taking into account weather conditions in the area.

As at the time of reporting, he said all 20 victims were still awaiting evacuation, while details of the injured hikers have yet to be released.

Mount Dukono, located on the northern part of Halmahera island in North Maluku province, is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes and has experienced frequent eruptions in recent years.

-- BERNAMA