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BASARNAS, the national search and rescue authority, has yet to confirm the identities or nationalities of those who perished in the recent volcanic eruption.
According to North Halmahera Police Chief Erlichson Pasaribu, the eruption occurred while nine foreign nationals and 11 local hikers were navigating the slopes of Mount Dukono. Pasaribu shared this information during an interview with Indonesia’s Kompas TV.
By late Friday afternoon, all climbers who survived the ordeal had successfully made their way down the mountain, Pasaribu assured.
However, the ongoing volcanic activity has posed significant challenges for rescue teams trying to recover the bodies of the three climbers who were killed, Pasaribu reported.
Dramatic footage captured by Alex Djangu, an Indonesian mountain guide, shows a massive plume of smoke and ash billowing from the mountain’s crater, underscoring the volatile nature of the situation.
Djangu was guiding two German tourists on Mount Dukono when he felt deep tremors before the eruption, telling CNN it was “very scary”.
“I saw the small rocks and gravel sliding down because of the tremors, then I told my clients we have to run down,” he said.
While Djangu and his group were able to safely evacuate, he said many hikers remained at the crater at the time of the eruption.
“When we were about 100 metres away, I saw two groups of local tourists, one group of nine people already close to the rim and the other were videoing for content.”
“I hope they are still alive,” he can be heard saying in the video.
The volcano, he said, is highly active and continued to erupt into Friday afternoon “with supersonic sound”.
Mount Dukono is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, with authorities noting increased activity since late March.
“When Mount Dukono does not erupt for several days, people need to be careful because it may be building up very high pressure. And that is what happened today,” Djangu said in the video.
Rescue teams could be seen on the mountain on Friday, and carrying at least one injured person on a stretcher through the forest, in photos from Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency BASARNAS.
Indonesia sits on the “Ring of Fire”, a band around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity frequently occur.
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