REFILE-Indonesia resumes search for three hikers missing after Mount Dukono eruption

"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.

​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.