Bodies of two Singaporean hikers located but unrecovered as Mount Dukono conditions worsen

INDONESIA, GALELA — Rescue teams have located the bodies of two Singaporean hikers near the summit of Mount Dukono but have been unable to retrieve them, as heavy rain, flooding and continued volcanic activity suspended operations on 10 May 2026, the third day since the volcano erupted.

The deaths of the two Singaporeans were reported on 8 May, along with that of an Indonesian national from Ternate, after the group of 20 hikers was caught by the eruption near the summit. Recovery of the bodies has since been prevented by deteriorating conditions.

"The rescue team has located the victims. The victims are buried under volcanic material and are believed to have died," Riswan Umar, a local resident participating in the rescue operation, told The Straits Times.

Iwan Ramdani, head of the Ternate search and rescue office, said the team had attempted to reach the bodies but been forced back.

"The two victims are about 50 metres from the summit and are believed to have died. The rescue team was attempting to recover them, but the evacuation was hampered by rain, and the operation has been temporarily suspended," he said.

Conditions on the ground on 10 May

The recovery effort encountered obstacles well before teams could approach the crater. Heavy rain overnight had turned the narrow dirt road leading to the mountain into deep mud.

An ST journalist attempting to reach the main observation post at the foot of the mountain was forced to turn back approximately 5km from Mamuya village after flooding and thick mud made the road impassable.

Conditions at higher elevations were no better. Mochamad Thilio, a Tobelo officer with Indonesia's Brimob police mobile brigade coordinating communications with the rescue team, said rescuers had reached Post 5, approximately 1km from the crater, before pulling back toward a shelter because of rain and flooding.

Thilio confirmed the two Singaporeans had been visually located by the team, but said repeated eruptions combined with rain and flooding were preventing them from reaching the site.

150 personnel deployed across four units

Basarnas said on 10 May that 150 personnel had been deployed and divided into four search and rescue units to comb an area extending approximately 1.25km from the point where the hikers were last seen.

The search was anchored to the site where the first victim — an Indonesian woman — was found on 9 May. Two small mounds of volcanic sand near the crater, approximately 3 metres from that location, had been GPS-marked and were the focus of the operation.

In a release on 9 May, BNPB said: "The two locations are strongly suspected to be linked to the two other victims who remain missing."

Iwan said the safety of rescue personnel remained the overriding consideration. "Weather conditions and volcanic activity continue to produce hot ash and other material," he said.

First body recovered on 9 May

The body of the Indonesian woman was found at approximately 2.30pm local time on 9 May, around 50 metres from the crater rim. Rescuers had spent hours moving through deep volcanic sand before heavy rain forced a halt. When conditions eased, only the lower half of her body was visible above the ash.

Her remains were recovered and transported to the eruption command post before being transferred to a hospital in Tobelo. With daylight fading and volcanic activity still elevated, the team suspended further work for the night.

Group trekked despite ban and exclusion zone

The two Singaporeans were among a group of 20 — nine Singaporeans and 11 Indonesians — who trekked on 7 May despite a climbing ban imposed by local authorities on 17 April and a 4km no-go exclusion zone around the crater. Volcanologists had expanded the exclusion zone from 3km in 2024.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on 9 May that seven Singaporeans evacuated from the mountain were on their way to Jakarta and were expected to return to Singapore on 10 May.