Mum, wife mourn for S'porean hiker who died in Mount Dukono eruption

27-year-old newlywed described as someone devoted to his family; surviving hikers return

- Rhea Yasmine

Mr Shahin Muhrez Abdul Hamid's body was found near the volcano's summit.

(PHOTO: COURTESY OF NURINA IFFAH JUSMANI)

When Ms Noraini Ibrahim found out on May 10, which was also Mother's Day, that her son Shahin Muhrez Abdul Hamid had died atop Mount Dukono, she said it was like a wall had collapsed.

Speaking to Malay-language daily Berita Harian on May 10, Ms Noraini said: "Losing Shahin was like the wall I was leaning on was collapsing."

Mr Shahin, 27, was the youngest of four siblings and the family's cheerleader, said the 64-year-old teacher.

He was also a pious child who prioritised his family, she said in a WhatsApp message to the news outlet.

"All his devotion and love are irreplaceable," she added.

Mr Shahin was one of three hikers - two Singaporeans and one Indonesian - who were reported missing after the active volcano on the remote Halmahera island in North Maluku province in eastern Indonesia erupted on May 8.

The eruption sent hot rocks and ash raining down on the climbers.

The bodies of Mr Shahin and Singaporean Timothy Heng, 30, were recovered two days later next to each other, near the summit.

The body of the Indonesian victim - a woman - was found earlier, on May 9.