A daring group of climbers had to scramble for their lives earlier this week when the volcano they were scaling suddenly erupted just as they reached its rim. 

In stunning footage, reportedly captured by a government drone, the climbers were spotted fleeing down the side of Mt Dukono in Indonesia as it began to erupt, spewing plumes of smoke and gas just as the climbers appeared to reach its summit. 

The video shows the climbers hurriedly making their way back down the summit as the volcano raged above them. 

According to the Telegraph, no one was injured and cited local media reports which said that the group had ignored warnings from Indonesian authorities not to scale Mt Dukono due to increased volcanic activity. 

The Indonesian National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB) said it had identified the presence of unauthorised climbers last Saturday while an eruption occurred. 

"Mount Dukono which is located in North Halmahera County, North Maluku Province, was climbed by dozens of unauthorized climbers when an eruption occurred last Saturday (17/8). The Dukono Volcano Observation Post (PGA) said they were lucky to escape the ashes of the eruption at the time. Despite the eruption being observed, the status of Mount Dukono volcanic activity is still at level II or 'Alert'," they said. 

The BNPB said that the Dukono PGA is still observing continuous eruptions and that climbing is still not allowed, urging all to comply with the recommendations, especially within the designated danger zone. 

They said that the volcano was still visibly spewing white and grey crater smoke, which remained at high intensity within the range of 100 to 500 metres from the summit. 

In its warning, the BNPB recalled that last year 21 climbers died while climbing the active volcano Mount Merapi in the West Sumatra Province. 

At the time of the incident, the volcanic activity had also been classed as a level II, as Mt Dukono is being classed presently.