Three Killed After Mount Dukono Erupts in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Three people were killed after Mount Dukono erupted Friday in Indonesia’s North Maluku province, according to local police.
Search and rescue officials had earlier said crews were trying to evacuate about 20 hikers who were trapped after the eruption.
The volcano erupted at about 7:40 a.m. local time, sending a column of ash roughly 10 kilometers into the sky, according to reports. Local rescue authorities warned residents to avoid activity within a 4-kilometer radius of the crater and cautioned that volcanic mudflows could occur during rainfall.
Mount Dukono, located on Halmahera Island, is one of Indonesia’s 127 active volcanoes. The 1,087-meter volcano also erupted in February, prompting Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre to issue an aviation warning.
During that earlier eruption, the volcano spewed ash up to 2,000 meters into the sky, with thick white-to-gray clouds drifting south of the crater. A Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation was issued at the orange level, the second-highest alert, barring aircraft from flying below 5 kilometers around the volcano.
Authorities have advised residents, visitors and tourists near Mount Dukono to stay away from the Malupang Warirang crater, one of the volcano’s active craters. People living nearby were also urged to keep face masks available to protect against volcanic ash.
Indonesia, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is one of the world’s most volcanically active countries. Last month, Mount Semeru in East Java erupted several times, sending ash up to 1,100 meters above its summit. (Source: IANS)
