Rescuers find body of first confirmed fatality from Mount Dukono eruption; believed to be Indonesian national
Two Singaporean hikers remain missing despite their locations having been identified.
The body of the first confirmed fatality from the Mount Dukono eruption, believed to be an Indonesian national, arrives at the Dukono Volcanology Observation Post in Tobelo, Indonesia, on May 9, 2026. (Image: CNA/Nivell Rayda)
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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.
On Friday, the local search and rescue agency identified the two missing Singaporean hikers as Heng Wen Qiang Timothy, 30, and Shahin Muhrez bin Abdul Hamid, 27, as it published a list of the survivors and missing.
The pair, along with the Indonesian hiker, 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.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB said earlier on Saturday that the locations of the two Singaporean hikers had been identified on Friday, but evacuation efforts were hampered by extreme terrain and heightened volcanic activity around the volcano.
Preliminary information indicated that they were located about 20m to 30m from the volcano’s main crater, BNPB said in a Facebook post.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassy in Jakarta were working with the Indonesian authorities to gather information and provide consular assistance and support to the affected Singaporeans and their families, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
