PANDEGLANG, Indonesia — 9 September 2026, A search is underway Wednesday for eight people, including five journalists, who went missing after a speedboat travelled towards Indonesia’s erupting Mount Anak Krakatau to cover the volcanic activity.
The missing group comprises five journalists, two boat crew members and a guide, according to Indonesian authorities and international media reports.
The group left Pagedongan Pier in Carita, Banten province, on Monday afternoon. They were travelling towards Anak Krakatau, which lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, when contact with the boat was lost.
The journalists include Muhammad Bagus Khoirunnas of Indonesia’s state news agency Antara, Arie Basuki of Merdeka.com, Yudhistira of iNews, Daus of Turkey’s Anadolu Agency and freelance photographer Donal Husni, according to Antara.
The last message from the boat was received by relatives of one of the journalists at 18:13 Monday, saying the group had reached waters around Anak Krakatau, according to Al Amrad, chief of Banten’s Search and Rescue Office. No further communication has been received.
The boat’s last known location was about 18.5 kilometres from shore.
On Tuesday, Indonesian rescuers launched a search operation after the group was reported missing. The initial search was suspended because of high waves and poor visibility, with the operation resuming Wednesday and the search area expanded. Dozens of rescuers, including police, military personnel, fishermen and volunteers, have been involved.
The rescue agency has deployed high-speed search-and-rescue vessels, inflatable boats and thermal drones to assist the operation.
As of Wednesday, none of the eight people had been located, and authorities had not reported any confirmed communication from the missing group. Antara said Tuesday evening that no signal or communication had been received from the five journalists.
Anak Krakatau eruptions continue
The journalists were travelling to document the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, which has been erupting since late last week and has disrupted air travel across Indonesia.
The volcano’s initial eruption ended Sunday, but subsequent explosions have ejected lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from its crater.
The volcano erupted three times on Tuesday, according to Indonesia’s volcano monitoring agency. Volcanic ash had affected several airports, including Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, although airports that had been closed because of the ash were subsequently reopened as conditions improved.
The volcanic ash disruption affected more than 340,000 travellers and that further eruptions could still cause flight disruptions depending on the height of the ash plume and wind direction.
Anak Krakatau, meaning “Child of Krakatau”, emerged from the area of the former Krakatau volcano, which was destroyed by a catastrophic eruption in 1883. The eruption triggered tsunamis that killed more than 36,000 people.
A 2018 eruption of Anak Krakatau also triggered a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.
Indonesian authorities have maintained a 3-kilometre exclusion zone around Anak Krakatau because of the continuing volcanic activity. Rescue teams have expanded the search area as they continue looking for the missing group.
