Climbers scramble for their lives from erupting volcano
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Climbers were forced to scramble for their lives after an active volcano erupted in front of them in Indonesia.
Extraordinary footage has emerged showing around a dozen hikers reaching the rim of Mount Dukono, only to rush back down the steep slopes in terror as the crater spewed out huge dark plumes of gas and smoke.
The video was reportedly captured by a government drone earlier this month. The hiking party all escaped to safety.
The group had disregarded a ban on entering the danger zone, which is located on the mountainous volcanic island of Halmahera, according to local media reports.
The sparsely populated island has two active volcanoes – Dukono in the north and Mount Ibu on the north-west coast.
Warning issued by disaster agency
Indonesia’s national disaster agency has issued a warning not to climb Mount Dukono because of increased volcanic activity.
Priatin Hadi Wijaya, the head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, according to Tempo news, said: “The general public is advised not to climb or visit Mount Dukono as volcanic activity is still high at the moment.”
Mr Priatin said the volcano is currently on a Level II alert, which means the authorities have placed a ban on entering the area within a 3km radius of the crater.
Indonesia, with 120 active volcanoes, sits along the “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.