Mount Saukang fire forces evacuation of hikers in Maros

Fire broke out at Mount Bulu Saukang in Maros, South Sulawesi, forcing hikers to leave the mountain as firefighters and search-and-rescue teams responded.

The blaze was first seen near post five at about 8 p.m. local time. A volunteer search-and-rescue team member, Ondong, said hikers were urged to descend after the fire was spotted. The flames spread toward the regular trail at post three and continued toward the summit.

The distance from post five to post three is about one kilometer, while the summit is roughly 300 meters away. Hikers who had reached the Bukit Alvath area were evacuated, and site managers checked registration tickets to confirm that everyone had come down.

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The fire was first seen at post five of Mount Saukang tonight.

Officials said the monitoring post recorded 337 hikers in the area, with 68 still on the mountain when the fire started. All were eventually evacuated to the base post. Three female hikers needed treatment, two for breathing difficulties and one for a twisted ankle.

The response involved 21 personnel and two vehicles. Fire engines could reach only the foot of the hill, so crews had to tackle the fire higher up manually. Officials continued monitoring the affected forest and mountain area and coordinated with Manggala Agni, Indonesia’s forest-fire response service.

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Alhamdulillah, everyone has come down. Now all the tickets are being checked.