Bodies of two tourists have been held grasping onto each other under the rubble after an Indonesian volcano erupted as it is on the third-highest alert level with visitors warned not to climb it
The bodies of two tourists missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia have been found holding each other.
The Singaporean nationals were found grasping each other under rock debris, after Mount Dukono on Indonesia’s Halmahera island erupted.
The bodies were retrieved in a difficult operation due to extreme terrain and rainfall, according to Indonesia’s rescue agency head, Iwan Ramdani.
The bodies have been taken to a local hospital to undergo an autopsy.
The volcano also continued to erupt and has been continually spitting out ash since Friday, making the evacuation even harder.
According to reports, at its peak debris was sent as high as six miles into the sky.
Despite warning posted across social media, several people “remain determined to climb, driven by the desire to create online content,” said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu on Friday.
Hr added: “They were aware that climbing was prohibited as the mountain is a restricted zone due to its high alert status, but insisted on going ahead.”
A search carried out on Sunday morning involved around 150 people using thermal drones to search around the mountains crater rim.
It was confirmed on Saturday that one missing Indonesian hiker was dead, while 17 people, including seven Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians, survived.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said that the seven rescued will return to Singapore on Sunday.
It is not yet clear when the bodies of those found dead will be returned.
Four further eruptions were reported on Sunday by Indonesia’s volcanology agency, with one sending ash nearly a mile high into the air.
Activity has been banned within 2.5 miles of the crater as Mount Dukono is now on the third-highest alert level.
