Three dead after volcano erupts on Indonesian island

Three dead after volcano erupts on Indonesian island7 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleTessa Wong,SingaporeandBBC Indonesian,JakartaWatch: Mount Dukono volcano erupts in IndonesiaThree people hiking on Indonesia's Mount Dukono have died after the volcano erupted on Friday morning.Videos and pictures of the eruption show the volcano, located on North Maluku island, spewing a column of ash stretching 10km (six miles) into the sky.The three victims were part of a group of 20 Singaporeans and Indonesians hiking on the mountain despite restrictions. The rest of the group was eventually located by rescuers and evacuated from the mountain.The volcano has erupted more than 200 times since last March. Officials had previously issued warnings against climbing the mountain due to safety concerns. The latest eruption took place at 07:41 local time (22:41 GMT Thursday), when there were several people on the mountain on early morning hikes.Indonesian officials said two Singaporeans and one local resident from the nearby city of Ternate had died.Rescuers eventually located the rest of their hiking group. Most of them were safely evacuated from the mountain and sent to a hospital to have their injuries treated.Two members of the group, who are porters, stayed behind on the mountain to help rescue workers locate the bodies.On Friday afternoon, Mount Dukono was still emitting volcanic material from its crater, according to one local resident assisting rescuers.Aldy Salabia told BBC Indonesian that they were at a local shelter on the mountain preparing for the rescue operation."From the shelter, we can see ash and rock material continuously being ejected," he said.North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu said that retrieval of the bodies, which are located at higher elevations, has been hampered by repeated eruptions, difficult terrain and strong blasts from the volcano.Besides the 20-member hiking group, eyewitness accounts indicate there were other...