Share to ClassroomThree Hikers Killed on Forbidden Indonesian Volcano
On Friday, 8 May 2026, Mount Dukono volcano erupted on Halmahera Island in eastern Indonesia, killing three hikers in a group of about twenty. The victims were two Singaporeans, Timothy Heng and Shahin Muhrez bin Abdul Hamid, along with an Indonesian woman, Angel Krishela Pradita. The crater sent ash more than nine kilometres into the sky and threw heavy rocks down the mountainside. Seventeen climbers were eventually evacuated, five of them injured. According to police, the group knew climbing was forbidden but decided to go ahead anyway.
North Halmahera Police Chief Erlichson Pasaribu said many hikers were driven by the desire to create online content— a pattern he linked to social-media-driven risk-taking in dangerous places. Mount Dukono had erupted more than 200 times since late March, and authorities had banned everyone from a four-kilometre area around the crater since 17 April. They had also posted warning signs at the entrances to climbing trails. Reza Selang, the Indonesian guide who led the group, told the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) he had been hired months earlier by Heng and did not know about the ban. Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area with frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
When the volcano erupted, it threw out a rock about two metres wide that bounced down the slope. Heng turned back to protect Shahin and was crushed beside him, Reza told reporters. Authorities have now permanently closed Mount Dukono and started an investigation into possible negligence by tour operators or individuals. Police have questioned witnesses from Reza's tour company, and Reza himself handed over his drone video as evidence. Rescue teams found the last two bodies on Sunday under thick black volcanic ash near the top of the mountain.
