black mountain with flowing lava at nighttime

Photo by Shawn Appel on Unsplash

Three Hikers Killed on Forbidden Indonesian Volcano

worldMay 13, 2026·290 words·3 min read

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.

Police said many hikers wanted to make online videos on the mountain. This made them take big risks. The volcano had erupted more than 200 times since late March. The area near the crater was closed on 17 April. Officials put warning signs at the trail entrance. Reza Selang, the local guide, told the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) he was hired months ago and did not know about the ban. Indonesia is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where many volcanoes are active.

When the volcano erupted, it threw a rock two metres wide down the mountain. Heng turned back to help Shahin, and the rock killed both men. Authorities have now closed Mount Dukono forever. They started an investigation to see if tour operators did something wrong. They took Reza's drone video as evidence. Rescue teams found the last two bodies on Sunday under deep volcanic ash.

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