Large-scale search continues for eight missing near Anak Krakatau volcano
Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency expands operations to find five journalists and three crew members who lost contact while covering volcanic activity at Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait.
Large-scale search continues for eight missing near Anak Krakatau volcano
Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has mobilized extensive resources to locate eight people who disappeared while documenting Mount Anak Krakatau's volcanic activity in the Sunda Strait, Banten. The missing group includes five journalists and three crew members who lost contact during a reporting assignment near the active volcano.
Search operations will resume Thursday morning, concentrating on the volcano's northern sector while adapting to prevailing currents, wave patterns and wind conditions, Basarnas Operations and Preparedness Deputy Edy Prakoso announced Wednesday evening in Jakarta.
The missing journalists are M Bagus Khoirunnas of ANTARA News Agency, Ari Basuki of Merdeka.com, Yudhistiro of iNews, Firdaus of Anadolu News Agency, and freelance journalist Donal. Also missing are boat captain Warta, crew member Surakman, and guide Heriyanto.
Extensive search and rescue operations deployed
Basarnas, which operates across all 33 Indonesian provinces as a non-ministerial government institution reporting directly to the President, has committed all available personnel and equipment to the operation. The agency conducted 2,264 search and rescue operations in 2021 alone, reflecting Indonesia's position at the intersection of four active tectonic plates and its status as home to approximately 130 active volcanoes along the Ring of Fire.
Initial search efforts by the Banten Search and Rescue Office on Tuesday deployed the KN SAR Tetuka and RIB-02 within a 3.2-kilometer radius of Mount Anak Krakatau but yielded no results. By Wednesday, rescue teams had expanded coverage to 68.3 square nautical miles, divided into four Search and Rescue Unit sectors.
The operation now involves significant maritime assets including Basarnas' KN SAR Tetuka, Indonesian Navy vessels KRI Loser, KRI Kerambit, KRI Lepu, KAL Anyer and KAL Pahawang, the National Police's KP Sanjaya, and three rigid inflatable boats from Banten and Lampung Search and Rescue Offices. Local volunteers and fishermen are providing additional support.
The search takes place in the Sunda Strait, a narrow waterway between Java and Sumatra that connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean, with a minimum width of approximately 24 kilometers at its narrowest point. Rescue teams face challenging conditions in waters surrounding a volcano with a history of deadly eruptions and catastrophic collapses.
Anak Krakatau's volatile history
Anak Krakatau, meaning "Child of Krakatau," first emerged above sea level in 1927-1928 from the caldera created by the catastrophic 1883 Krakatau eruption that killed more than 36,000 people. The young volcano, located within Ujung Kulon National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage property, has experienced at least 47 separate eruptions since its formation.
On December 22, 2018, Anak Krakatau suffered a major lateral collapse during eruptive activity, triggering a tsunami that caused at least 437 fatalities on the coasts of Sumatra and Java. The collapse removed approximately 50 percent of the volcano's subaerial extent, with the peak losing around two-thirds of its height from 338 meters above sea level. The 2018 event marked the highest death toll from a volcanically-induced tsunami since the original 1883 Krakatau eruption.
Current volcanic activity and safety warnings
Mount Anak Krakatau began its current eruptive phase on Friday, September 4, at 11:07 p.m. local time, with volcanic ash spreading across provincial boundaries. The volcano remains at Level III, or Siaga (Alert), on Indonesia's four-level volcano alert system managed by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG). This classification indicates significant volcanic activity requiring a safety exclusion zone.
PVMBG has warned of potential lava flows, incandescent rockfall, hot clouds and volcanic ashfall. Prakoso urged the public and vessels operating in the Sunda Strait to follow PVMBG instructions and maintain distance outside the three-kilometer danger zone around the volcano's active crater.
Prakoso, accompanied by Basarnas Preparedness Director Noer Isrodin and Operations Director Yudhi Bramantyo, emphasized the agency's determination to continue large-scale search efforts.
Basarnas and field teams will optimize all available resources. Please pray the search proceeds smoothly, safely and successfully, and that all victims are found.