Indonesia volcano erupts, killing three hikers on restricted climb

Three hikers died and rescuers pulled out 17 others after Mount Dukono erupted on Halmahera island, turning a restricted climb into a fatal test of how effectively Indonesia keeps people out of active danger zones.

The volcano roared at 7:41 a.m. local time on Friday, blasting an ash column about 10 kilometers into the sky and producing a booming sound heard around North Maluku province. Officials said the dead included two foreigners and one Indonesian from Ternate island, while other reports said some climbers were still missing as search teams worked the slopes of the nearly 1,355-meter peak.

About 20 hikers had set out Thursday to ascend the mountain even though authorities had closed the area to visitors since April 17 after scientists observed increased volcanic activity. Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation kept Dukono at the third-highest alert level in the country’s four-tier warning system, a signal that the mountain remained dangerous enough to justify a hard stop on access.

The eruption has sharpened questions about accountability after warnings were already in place. Officials had told climbers to stay away, yet the group still reached the no-go zone. That leaves the focus not just on the volcano, but on the chain of failures that let tourism pressure, weak enforcement or public complacency override a formal closure. In a country with more than 120 active volcanoes, the challenge is not only issuing alerts, but making sure they are obeyed when the terrain looks inviting and the risk is hard to see until it is too late.

Authorities also warned residents in Tobelo and nearby downwind areas to prepare for ash fall and to watch for mudflows if rain follows the eruption. The local rescue agency said the operation was still under way as officials accounted for everyone who had joined the climb.

Dukono is among Indonesia’s most restless volcanoes, with almost continuous explosive eruptions since 1933. Its history reaches much further back, including a major 1550 eruption that sent lava into the strait between Halmahera and the Gunung Mamuya cone. Friday’s disaster underscored the same lesson seen at hazardous peaks around the world: once officials close a mountain, keeping people out is every bit as important as knowing when it is about to blow.