The hope is that the victims can be found alive today.
On the slopes of Mount Dukono in Indonesia's remote North Maluku province, the ancient tension between human ambition and volcanic indifference came to a stark reckoning. Three hikers — two of them Singaporean — remain missing after the volcano erupted on May 8, sending ash ten kilometers skyward and swallowing part of a twenty-person group that had climbed despite an explicit ban. Over a hundred rescue personnel now search the ash-covered terrain, navigating both the mountain's ongoing volatility and the weight of a disaster that did not have to happen.
- Mount Dukono erupted violently on May 8, trapping hikers near its crater and leaving three people — including two Singaporeans — unaccounted for on one of Indonesia's most restless volcanoes.
- The group of twenty had knowingly violated a climbing ban and a four-kilometer exclusion zone, and their guides now face potential criminal charges for leading them into restricted territory.
- One hundred and three rescue personnel from multiple agencies are combing ash-blanketed slopes, using drones and on-foot teams, while the ever-present threat of further eruptions forces them to work in dangerous, time-pressured conditions.
- Around fifteen members of the group have been rescued safely, but hope for the three missing hikers is described as thin, with officials carefully avoiding certainty about whether survivors can still be found alive.
- Even as the rescue unfolds, travelers with hiking gear were spotted at a nearby airport preparing for trips, a quiet signal that the mountain's pull — and the disregard for its warnings — has not yet faded.
On the morning of May 9, rescue teams climbed the ash-covered slopes of Mount Dukono as dawn broke over North Maluku, searching for three hikers — two of them Singaporean — who had been missing since the volcano erupted the day before. The eruption had sent a column of ash ten kilometers into the sky, and the word "feared dead" hung quietly over an operation that officials nonetheless described with cautious hope.
One hundred and three personnel had been mobilized from Indonesia's disaster, military, police, and volcanology agencies, alongside local volunteers. The search was painstaking: teams had reached five hundred meters below the crater on May 8, drones scanned from above, and a second team combed a river channel near the summit where the hikers may have fled. But darkness and the threat of further eruptions forced a pause, with volcanic material capable of being ejected up to one and a half kilometers from the crater.
The twenty-person group — nine Singaporeans and eleven Indonesians — had set out on May 7 despite a climbing ban in place since April 17 and an exclusion zone that had been expanded to four kilometers in 2024. Mount Dukono, which has remained at alert level 2 since 2008, is among Indonesia's most persistently active volcanoes. The guides who led the group into the restricted area were being questioned by police and faced potential criminal charges.
By May 9, around fifteen members of the group had been rescued safely, with two survivors accompanying rescuers to help retrace the route through the unfamiliar, ash-blanketed terrain. In Ternate, where the operation was being coordinated, residents followed the news with grief and concern — one local described hearing that a Ternate resident working as a translator was among those missing. The mountain remained volatile, the search continued, and three people were still unaccounted for in its shadow.
On the morning of May 9, Indonesian rescue teams began climbing the ash-blanketed slopes of Mount Dukono as the sun rose over North Maluku. Three hikers—two of them Singaporean citizens—remained missing somewhere on the volcano's upper reaches after a violent eruption the day before had sent a column of ash ten kilometers into the sky. The search operation had resumed at dawn, and though officials spoke carefully about the odds, there was a thin thread of hope that the three might still be found alive.
One hundred and three rescue personnel had been mobilized for the operation, drawn from Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, the National Search and Rescue Agency, the military, police, volcanology officers, medical teams, and local volunteers. Iwan Ramdani, head of the Ternate search and rescue office, told reporters that morning that the joint effort was underway. The hope, he said, was that the victims could be found alive that day. But the word "feared dead" hung over the operation—a phrase that acknowledged what most understood about the volcano's power and the hikers' location when the eruption struck.
The three missing hikers had been part of a larger group of twenty—nine Singaporeans and eleven Indonesians—who had set out on May 7 to climb Mount Dukono despite explicit warnings. Local authorities had imposed a climbing ban on April 17. Volcanologists had established and then expanded a no-go exclusion zone around the crater, pushing it outward from three kilometers to four kilometers in 2024. The group climbed anyway. When the volcano erupted on the morning of May 8, they were trapped on one of Indonesia's most volatile peaks, a mountain that sits in the remote eastern province of North Halmahera and has remained at alert level 2—the second-lowest of four possible levels—since 2008.
The rescue effort itself was perilous. Search teams had reached a point five hundred meters below the crater on May 8, using drones to scan the terrain from above. A second team searched along a river channel near the summit, an area where authorities believed the hikers might have fled while trying to escape the eruption. But the work had to stop as darkness fell and visibility collapsed. Volcano observers issued warnings that incandescent lava and other volcanic material could be ejected up to one and a half kilometers from the crater. The search was briefly paused. Further eruptions could occur at any moment.
By May 9, around fifteen people from the original group had been rescued safely, though Indonesian agencies continued to release differing figures as the operation unfolded. Two members of the hiking group who had escaped unharmed were accompanying rescuers, helping them retrace the route and navigate the ash-covered terrain. The work was slow, methodical, and dangerous.
Back in Ternate, the island city where the search was being coordinated, news of the disaster had spread quickly through the usually quiet streets. Residents followed updates with a mixture of concern and hope. Yet not everyone was deterred. At Sultan Babullah Airport, travelers—including foreigners with large backpacks—were still preparing for hiking trips despite the unfolding rescue operation. Fakir Abdullah, a ride-hailing motorcycle driver, told reporters it was very sad news. He had heard that foreigners were among the missing hikers, and that one of them was from Ternate and worked as a translator.
The question of responsibility was already being raised. Police said the group's guide and porter were being questioned and could face criminal charges for allegedly leading hikers into a restricted zone. The climbing ban and exclusion zone had been in place for a reason. Mount Dukono's volcanic terrain draws regional adventurers, but its remote location and nearly constant ash emissions create a volatile and unpredictable environment. The hikers had ignored both the official warnings and the geography itself.
As rescue teams climbed the ash-covered slopes on May 9, the volcano remained at alert level 2, its status unchanged since 2008. The search would continue as long as hope remained and conditions allowed. But the mountain had already spoken, and three people were still missing in its shadow.
Citações Notáveis
The hope is that the victims can be found alive today.— Iwan Ramdani, head of Ternate search and rescue office
It is very sad news. I heard there were foreigners among the hikers, and one of them was from Ternate and worked as a translator.— Fakir Abdullah, ride-hailing motorcycle driver in Ternate
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did a group of twenty people decide to climb a volcano that was under a climbing ban?
That's the question everyone is asking. The ban had been in place since April 17, and there was a four-kilometer exclusion zone around the crater. But people climb for reasons that sometimes override official warnings—the draw of the mountain, the experience, perhaps underestimating the risk.
And the guides who led them—what happens to them now?
They're being questioned by police and could face criminal charges. They knowingly led hikers into a restricted zone. That's the accountability piece, though it doesn't bring back the three who are missing.
The volcano has been at alert level 2 since 2008. Does that mean it's considered relatively safe?
Level 2 is the second-lowest alert level, but it doesn't mean safe. It means the volcano is being watched, that it's active and capable of eruption. Mount Dukono has nearly constant ash emissions. The level 2 status reflects a baseline of volatility, not stability.
How did fifteen people manage to escape when three didn't?
Two members of the group who got out safely are now helping rescuers retrace the route. The difference between escape and being trapped often comes down to location when the eruption happens, which direction you run, whether you can see through the ash. Chance plays a role.
What are the actual odds that the three missing hikers are still alive?
Officials speak carefully about a "faint hope." The eruption sent ash ten kilometers into the sky. The volcano can eject incandescent material up to one and a half kilometers from the crater. The three were near the summit when it happened. The odds are grim, but rescue teams don't stop searching until they have to.