A SHOCK TO THE COMMUNITY
On May 8, Dukono erupted violently, sending a thick plume of ash 10,000m into the atmosphere, making it one of the volcano’s biggest eruptions in recorded history.
According to data from the Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre (PVMBG) past eruptions have rarely expelled ash of more than 1,000m in height since 1933 when such measurement began.
“Even we locals who are used to seeing Dukono erupting were taken aback by the (May 8) eruption,” said Jabir.
When 17 people emerged from Dukono’s slopes to report that three of their friends were missing, locals had a hunch that this would not be a normal search and rescue mission but one of recovery.
“This is the first time someone died on the slopes of Dukono. This time we had three dying in one single eruption. This comes as a huge shock for us locals,” Mamuya native Sababil Pasaraja, 29, who also took part in the rescue effort, told CNA.
Scouring the slopes for missing climbers is familiar territory for him and fellow residents.
Every time a hiker went missing on Mount Dukono in the past, Basarnas would ask locals to participate in search and rescue efforts. Almost all of the locals treated Dukono as their backyard, with intimate knowledge of every ridge, forest path and obstacle.
The last time locals assisted in a search and rescue operation was in 2017, when a then-17-year-old boy was separated from his peers and got lost. He was found more than 24 hours later.