A British hiker took command of a rescue operation after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted without warning on Flores Island, guiding a group of terrified tourists to safety as ash and pyroclastic flows rained down. Sources confirm the man, identified as 34-year-old former Royal Marine James Hawke, was leading a trekking party when the volcano exploded at dawn. Eyewitnesses say he herded 12 people into a cave, then navigated the group through a maze of lava fields to reach the coast.

Local authorities have since evacuated 2,000 residents from a 4-kilometre exclusion zone. The eruption, which spewed ash 2 kilometres into the sky, killed at least six people. Hawke’s actions likely prevented a higher death toll, but questions remain about why the volcano’s warning signs were ignored.