(Adds name of the head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency in paragraph 10)
By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA, May 9 (Reuters) – Indonesian authorities resumed search efforts on Saturday for three hikers missing following the eruption of Mount Dukono on Halmahera island, an official says.
Mount Dukono, in North Maluku province, erupted on Friday at 07:41 a.m. (2241 GMT Thursday), spewing volcanic ash as high as 10 km (6.2 miles) into the sky, the country’s volcanology agency said.
The rescue agency had halted the search on Friday evening as it continued to erupt.
At least 100 rescuers, military and police personnel as well as two thermal drones have been deployed since Saturday morning to find the three missing, Iwan Ramdani, the head of local rescue agency told Reuters.
The hikers were two Singaporeans and one Indonesian, he added.
“We are focusing the search around the crater, covering an area around 700 metres,” Iwan said.
Authorities on Friday had evacuated 17 people, of whom seven were Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians.
Survivors said three people, including two Singaporeans, died in the eruption, local police chief Erlichson Pasaribu had said, but the rescue agency has yet to confirm the deaths as of Saturday.
Saturday’s search was still hampered by continued eruptions, Iwan said.
The volcanology agency recorded at least four eruptions on Saturday morning, Lana Saria, the head of the agency said in a statement.
The agency is maintaining the alert status of Mount Dukono at the third-highest level, she added.
Residents and tourists were advised not to do any activities within 4 km (2.5 miles) radius from the crater, she said.
There were no reports yet of flight disruptions caused by the eruption.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity atop various tectonic plates.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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