JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers on Saturday recovered the body of an Indonesian woman who was caught in a volcanic eruption at Mount Dukono on Indonesia 's remote island of Halmahera a day earlier, as search operations continued to find the bodies of two Singaporeans, officials said.
The slain hikers were among 20 who set out to ascend the 1,355-meter (4,445-foot) volcano in defiance of safety restrictions and became stranded when Dukono erupted early Friday, spewing a thick ash column that rose about 10 kilometers (6 miles) into the air.
The woman, identified by authorities only as Enjel and known as a local hiker, was located Saturday afternoon, about 50 meters (165 feet) from the rim of the main crater, said Iwan Ramdani, who heads local Search and Rescue Office. The location of the bodies of two Singaporean climbers remains unknown, and rescue teams are continuing operations amid high volcanic activity, he said.
“The rescue efforts went through a situation that required careful calculation and a well-planned evacuation strategy,” Ramdani said, “We took into account the potential escalation of volcanic activity as well as the safety of all personnel.”
Hours after the eruption, 17 climbers had been safely evacuated, including seven Singaporean nationals and two Indonesians who eventually joined the rescue operation and provided information on climbing routes of the victims before the eruption. Ten of those evacuated suffered minor burn injuries.
The search operation that involved more than 100 personnel supported by drones resumed early Saturday, focusing on a 700 square-meter (7,500 square-foot) area where clues were found during earlier searches, despite hazardous terrain and continuing eruptions, according to Ramdani.
He said rescuers were prioritizing safety because Dukono’s volcanic activity remains elevated.
“The main challenge in this search effort is that we are racing against ongoing eruptions,” Ramdani said in a video statement, “When the authorities declare conditions safe, we move closer to the crater area, but when an eruption occurs, we must immediately secure all search personnel from potential danger.”
Indonesia’s volcanology agency reported multiple eruptions from early Saturday through late morning, including ash columns rising as high as 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above the crater. Lava bursts were also observed overnight from a monitoring post near the volcano.
Mount Dukono has been on the second-highest alert level status since 2008. Authorities enforced a four-kilometer (2.5-mile) exclusion zone around the active crater in December 2024.
Local authorities formally closed all hiking routes to Mount Dukono in April and reinforced the ban following Friday’s incident. The National Disaster Management Agency warned that entering restricted zones could result in legal sanctions.
The agency urged climbers and tour operators to comply with safety recommendations, noting that similar restrictions apply to dozens of other active volcanoes across the country currently at elevated alert levels.
Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is home to more than 120 active volcanoes.
In this photo released by the Badan Geologi, the geological agency of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Dukono releases volcanic materials during an eruption in North Halmahera, Indonesia, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Badan Geologi via AP)
“Complete and utter nonsense.” That's how Australia captain Pat Cummins responded to Usman Khawaja's claim that the entire team was in on the ball-tampering plot that became known as “Sandpapergate” and rocked cricket in 2018.
Cummins staged an extraordinary news conference Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, hours ahead Australia’s home-season opening one-day international against England in Perth, to address the allegations published this week in his longtime teammate's autobiography.
He opened the packed news conference by saying he was prepared to stay and answer questions all day if needed, because he wanted to draw a line under the sorry saga.
In the immediate aftermath of a Cricket Australia investigation into the cheating attempt three players received unprecedented bans — Steve Smith and David Warner, then captain and vice-captain, for 12 months; Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball, for nine months.
The episode has remained so divisive that even eight years later the innuendo and acrimony will mean Cummins' comments in a 70-minute live stand-up will not end questions over who knew what and when.
Cummins, who was part of the bowling attack in that test at Cape Town against South Africa, accused Khawaja of being “casual” and “flippant” by suggesting everyone in the locker room was aware of the sandpaper plot.
“When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he’s 100% wrong,” Cummins said. “I’ve said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.
“But I think Usman actually says things that are actually far more serious than that. He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense.”
Khawaja said he published his account of the episode in a bid to support the three players who he believed had been made scapegoats for the team.
He's had public support from Warner, who responded on social media that the Cricket Australia investigation at the time was rushed and botched. Warner and Smith resumed their international careers in 2019 and remained key players for Australia. Warner retired in 2024, and Smith is still in the squad.
The management has been overhauled. Head coach Darren Lehmann was replaced after the South Africa series by Justin Langer, who was succeeded by Andrew McDonald in 2022. Veteran wicketkeeper Tim Paine replaced Smith as test captain before Cummins took over in 2021.
Cricket Australia has a new chairman and CEO, Todd Greenberg, who has ruled out reopening the Sandpapergate investigation.
The longtime bowling group, including Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, in 2021 rejected innuendo that everyone was in on the plot to use sandpaper to help make the ball “reverse” — or swing unconventionally through the air. Cummins and Starc have publicly confirmed their version of events again this week.
But in his autobiography, Khawaja said he was sitting beside Bancroft in the locker room when he heard of a plot to tamper with the ball, and urged caution.
Cummins, who was 13 tests into his international career in that Cape Town match, on Friday turned the spotlight back on Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January after his 88th test match.
“I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam to be careful when using sandpaper,” Cummins said, adding that Khawaja had been instrumental in helping the Australian squad turn around what he described as a sometimes ugly, win-at-all-costs culture.
“That’s not the Usman that I know. It’s not the Usman that I think has been part of a team that’s helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years,” he said. “And the one that would have stopped that from happening there and then.”
See AP’s full cricket coverage here
Australia's captain Pat Cummins, right, tosses a ball to Mitchell Starc, on day four of the third cricket test match between South Africa and Australia, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)
Australian men's cricket team captain Pat Cummins speaks in Sydney, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, about the Sandpapergate cheating scandal. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Australia men’s cricket captain Pat Cummins speaks in Sydney, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, about the Sandpapergate cheating scandal. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Australian men's cricket team captain Pat Cummins speaks in Sydney, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, about the so-called Sandpapergate cheating scandal. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
