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3 Hikers Killed After Giant Volcano Erupts

The eruption blasted ash six miles into the sky.

Three hikers have been killed after a notorious volcano in Indonesia erupted. People had been warned about heightened volcanic activity at Mount Dukono, on Halmahera Island in eastern Indonesia, before it blasted off on Friday at around 7.40 a.m. local time, sending ash clouds barrelling into the air. The Volcanological Survey of Indonesia said that the plume reached six miles high. Police said that, despite warnings, around 20 people were on Dukono when it erupted. Cops later confirmed that two Singaporeans and an Indonesian national had died. Everyone else made it off the mountain and survived. Tour guides will now be grilled by police for allowing the excursions to go ahead, the local police chief has said. The volcano has erupted at varying degrees nearly 200 times over the last month or so, experts have said. The Indonesian archipelago sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire. Indonesia has some 127 active volcanoes, experts say.