Eight People Missing While Reporting on Anak Krakatau Eruption

Eight people disappeared while traveling by speedboat to report on Mount Anak Krakatau’s activity, and rescuers had still found no trace of them by late Tuesday, September 8.

The group consisted of five journalists, two crew members and a guide. They left Carita Pier in Pandeglang, Banten, at about 2 p.m. on Monday, September 7, bound for Mount Anak Krakatau. The journey was expected to take two hours.

Contact was lost at 2:42 p.m., while the boat was believed to be between Carita and the volcano. Their position was detected near Mount Anak Krakatau at 6:13 p.m. Basarnas Banten received the initial report at 1:55 p.m. on Tuesday from a colleague of one of the journalists, who worked for Antara.

Rescuers checked the departure point before sending a rigid inflatable boat to search the area. At 5:25 p.m., they deployed the state search-and-rescue vessel KN SAR Tetuka 247. The vessel operated in partly cloudy weather with a 14-knot wind blowing north from the south.

The rigid inflatable boat later returned to Carita Marina after searching around Rakata and Panjang islands within a 3.2-kilometer radius of Mount Anak Krakatau. The search produced no result. KN SAR Tetuka continued around the group’s last known position before anchoring to resume the operation the next day.

The missing people were identified as captain Warta, crew member Surakman, guide Heriyanto, and journalists M. Bagus Khoirunnas of Antara, Ari Basuki of Merdeka, Yudhis of iNews, Daus of Anadolu and freelance journalist Donal.

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There’s still nothing, the search operation is ongoing.