Three hikers, including two foreigners, were killed and 10 were missing after a volcano on Indonesia's eastern Halmahera island erupted on Friday, spewing an ash cloud into the air.

'There are three dead, two foreigners and one resident of Ternate' island in east Indonesia, police chief Erlichson Pasaribu of North Halmahera province told local Kompas TV.

Another 10 were missing in the area, which was declared off-limits to visitors last month after scientists observed an increase in volcanic activity. 

The hikers had ignored social media appeals and warning signs put up at the entrance to the trail to stay away,  Erlichson said.

'Local residents understand and don't want to climb. Many [hikers] are foreign tourists who wish to create [social media] content.'

Lana Saria, head of the government Geology Agency, said the early-morning eruption was accompanied by a 'booming sound' and a thick smoke column rising some 10 km from the summit of Mount Dukono in the North Maluku province.

'The direction of the ash distribution leans northward, so residential areas and Tobelo City need to be vigilant for... volcanic ash rain,' she said in a statement.

The smoke could be dangerous for public health, Lana added, and risked disrupting transportation services.

Footage shared on social media showed a huge ash cloud billowing into the sky, as locals looked on. 

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where tectonic plates collide.

Mount Dukono is currently on the third-highest alert level of Indonesia's four-tiered alert system.

Since December, the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has recommended that tourists and climbers not come within four kilometres of the volcano's Malupang Warirang Crater.

This is a breaking story, more to follow.