TOBELO, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities on Saturday (May 9) confirmed the death of a hiker who was caught up in the eruption of Mount Dukono a day earlier, adding that they believe the victim was an Indonesian national.
Rescuers are in the midst of recovering the body, which authorities believe to be that of a woman named Angel, Iwan Ramdani, the head of the local rescue agency, told reporters. The body will be brought to a regional hospital for identification.
Two Singaporean hikers remain missing despite their locations having been identified.
“This is because eruptions are still ongoing, there is heavy rain and there are still floods filled with debris. In addition to the flooding, the (volcanic) material is also hot, which poses a danger to the search and rescue team,” Iwan said, adding that one of them had activated a locator beacon that transmitted distress signals.
The three hikers were among a group of 20 people on the slopes of the volcano in Indonesia’s North Maluku province when it erupted on Friday morning, sending ash as high as 10km into the sky.
The three went missing during the eruption, while the remaining 17 hikers – seven Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians – were evacuated later that day.
