Three hikers – two Singaporeans and a local – died in an eruption on Friday of Indonesia’s Mount Dukono volcano where they found themselves in a no-go zone, officials said.
The eruption on Halmahera island sent an ash cloud about 10km (6.2 miles) into the air, with no towns or villages near enough to face any immediate threat.
Twenty hikers were on the slopes when disaster struck, North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu told reporters at a volcano monitoring station in Mamuya village.
Nine were from Singapore and the rest Indonesian.
As of Friday evening, 17 climbers – seven of them foreigners – have been found alive, according to the head of local rescue agency Iwan Ramdani.
Rescue efforts have been paused and will resume on Saturday, he said.