JAKARTA — A volcanic eruption on Indonesia’s Halmahera island has killed at least three people and left 20 climbers missing, with rescue operations underway, authorities said Friday.
The eruption at Mount Dukono began at 7:41 a.m. local time, according to a report by Al Jazeera on Friday, May 8. Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said ash from the explosion rose about 10 km into the sky, accompanied by a loud roar.
Iwan Ramdani, head of the local search and rescue agency, told Reuters that police and dozens of rescue workers had been deployed to find the 20 climbers trapped by the eruption. He said nine of the missing climbers were Singaporean nationals.
North Halmahera police chief Erlikson Pasaribu, in remarks reported by AFP, said two of the three people killed were foreign nationals. Authorities had closed the area to tourists on April 17 after scientists detected signs of increased volcanic activity.
Authorities have ordered residents and tourists to remain at least 4 km from the Malupang Warirang crater, considered the volcano’s main active vent.
As ash drifted north, the government-run volcano monitoring agency warned residents of Tobelo to expect possible ash fall. It also warned of direct risks from ejected rocks and lava flows.
Mount Dukono is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It has erupted nearly 200 times since March this year.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report