SINGAPORE: Singapore is working with Indonesia to provide assistance and support to the Singaporeans who were affected by the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Dukono, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday (May 8).
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta are working closely with the Indonesian authorities to gather the relevant information, and render consular assistance and support to the affected Singaporeans and their families,” said MFA.
Three hikers, including two Singaporeans, were reported dead after Mount Dukono on Indonesia’s eastern Halmahera island erupted.
The volcano, located in North Maluku province, erupted at 7.41am local time (6.41am, Singapore time) on Friday, sending a plume of smoke 10km into the air.
“There are three dead, two foreigners and one resident of Ternate” island in eastern Indonesia, police chief Erlichson Pasaribu of North Halmahera province told Kompas TV.
The number of affected Singaporeans was not disclosed by MFA, but Indonesian authorities reported that 20 people were caught in the eruption, with three still missing.
Mount Dukono is currently at level two on Indonesia’s four-tier alert system.
The area had been closed to visitors since Apr 17 after scientists observed increased volcanic activity.
Since December, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has recommended that tourists and climbers do not come within 4km of the volcano’s Malupang Warirang Crater.
Unlike Indonesia’s more tourist-friendly volcanoes, Mount Dukono sits far from the country’s main travel routes. Reaching it from Jakarta typically involves flights to Ternate, a boat crossing to Halmahera, and a long overland drive to Tobelo in North Halmahera before the trek even begins.
