Rescue teams in North Halmahera have successfully evacuated 17 hikers following a violent eruption of Mount Dukono on Friday, though three others—including two Singaporean nationals—remain trapped on the mountain. The operation, led by the Ternate Search and Rescue (SAR) Office, has been hampered by continuous volcanic activity, leaving recovery teams unable to reach the deceased.
The eruption, which struck at 7:41 a.m. WIT on May 8, sent a massive column of grey and black ash approximately 10,000 meters into the atmosphere. While the survivors have been processed through local hospitals and are currently recovering at Hotel Bianda or undergoing questioning by authorities, the mood in the region is one of frustration. Official warnings were in place, yet several groups allegedly bypassed safety protocols to reach the summit.
Iwan Ramdani, Head of the Ternate SAR Office, confirmed that the three victims—identified by the initials HWQT, SM and E—could not be retrieved by 6:00 p.m. WIT due to the mountain’s ongoing instability. “Mount Dukono continues to erupt,” Ramdani stated, explaining that the volatility of the crater makes any attempt to recover the bodies a high-risk mission for rescue personnel.
A Collision of Risk and ‘Content’
The tragedy has sparked a heated investigation into how the hikers reached the restricted zone. AKBP Erlichson Pasaribu, the North Halmahera Police Chief, revealed that his office is specifically targeting the guides and companions who led the group up the mountain despite explicit prohibitions.
According to Pasaribu, banners and warnings were clearly posted at the entrance of the hiking trails. However, evidence suggests these were ignored by those seeking dramatic footage for social media. “There were banners prohibiting climbing because of the ‘Waspada’ (Alert) status, but they were not followed because they wanted to seek content,” Pasaribu said.
This sentiment was echoed by Abdul Muhari, Head of the Disaster Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center at the BNPB. Muhari indicated that preliminary discussions between agencies suggest negligence by tourism operators who continued to facilitate climbs despite the official closure of the area by the Ministry of Tourism.
The Science of a Persistent Threat
Mount Dukono is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, characterized by near-constant activity. Despite the severity of Friday’s eruption, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has maintained the mountain’s status at Level II (Waspada). This status has been in place since 2008.
Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, head of the Volcanic Mountain Work Team, explained that the status is tied to the threat posed to human settlements. Because the nearest villages are roughly 8 kilometers away—well outside the 4-kilometer danger radius—the status has not been raised to Level III (Siaga), which typically requires a more immediate threat to populated areas.
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Eruption Time | May 8, 07:41 WIT |
| Ash Column Height | ± 10,000 Meters |
| Current Status | Level II (Waspada) |
| Danger Radius | 4 Kilometers |
| Casualties | 3 Dead (2 Singaporeans, 1 WNI) |
Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati, head of the PVMBG, warned that while settlements are currently safe, the ash plume is drifting north, posing a respiratory health risk to residents in the city of Tobelo. She noted that the mountain’s history is volatile, citing a 1933 eruption that reached 15 kilometers in height.
‘Like the Flow of a River’: A Guide’s Warning
For those who know the mountain, the signs of the eruption were audible long before the explosion. Aleksius Djangu, a veteran eco-tourism guide with experience on Mount Dukono since 1996, was on the mountain during the event but survived because he adhered to safety protocols.
Djangu described a haunting auditory warning: a sound resembling a rushing river. “I went to the river, but there was no water. It turned out the sound was coming from the crater,” he recalled, suggesting that magma pressure was shallowing the crater. He noted that the volcano had been unusually quiet—a “silence” that he recognized as a sign of building pressure.
Djangu also highlighted a critical failure in route selection. He avoids the northern route from Mamuya Village because the crater’s opening faces that direction, making it a primary path for volcanic material. “Those who had accidents used the northern route,” he said, noting that he always leads his guests via the eastern route through Ruko Village.
The ‘Infodemic’ of Disaster Tourism
The incident has become a case study in what experts call “survivorship bias.” Daryono, from the Indonesian Disaster Experts Association (IABI), argues that the rise of influencer culture has distorted the public’s perception of volcanic risk.
“People see videos of hikers or influencers who successfully climbed and returned safely. This creates a distortion,” Daryono explained. “They feel safe not because the mountain is actually safe, but because they see others appearing fine in a video.”
Daryono warned that this “infodemic”—where viral content outweighs official scientific data—leads people to ignore the reality of pyroclastic flows, toxic gases, and sudden explosive eruptions. In the case of Mount Dukono, the desire for a “viral” moment likely overrode the biological instinct for survival.
As the Ternate SAR team continues to monitor the crater for a window of safety to recover the remaining bodies, the North Halmahera Police are expected to finalize their questioning of the guides involved. The next official update on the recovery operation is expected from the BPBD once the volcanic activity subsides sufficiently to allow personnel back into the 4-kilometer zone.
If you or a loved one have been affected by this event, support services are available through the local BPBD and health clinics in Tobelo.
Do you believe stricter legal penalties for guides are necessary to prevent “content-driven” disasters? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
