Shocking footage shows a group of hikers running for their lives during a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. They had just reached the rim of Mount Dukono when smoke started to billow toward them.
Government drones caught the terrifying incident on camera earlier this month. The dozen or so hikers can be seen scrambling down the steep sides of Mount Dukano as huge plumes of grey smoke and ash pour out of the top of the crater and roll down the slopes.
You can see the group scrambling at warp speed down the sides and then running for their lives. It seemed like the ash cloud was about to engulf them. Some of the group continued to stand on the edge of the overlook, watching before slowly retreating down. Incredibly, everyone escaped to safety. No injuries were reported.
Indonesia sits squarely in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region in the Pacific Ocean that is home to 450 active volcanoes. The island of Halmahera houses two of these -– Mount Ibu and Mount Dukano.
There are strict guidelines for visiting the volcanoes because of how active and unpredictable they are. Dukano has been erupting continuously since the 1930s. It is currently on a Level II alert, which means that hikers can’t approach within three kilometers of the crater. This hiking group chose to ignore that ban.
