TANJUNG LESUNG, Indonesia — Doctors worked to help survivors and hundreds of people searched on debris-strewn beaches for more victims Monday from a deadly tsunami that smashed into houses, hotels and other buildings without warning in the darkness along an Indonesian strait.

The waves that swept terrified people into the sea Saturday night along the Sunda Strait followed an eruption and possible landslide on Anak Krakatau, one of the world’s most infamous volcanic islands.

At least 281 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. Dozens are missing from the disaster areas along the coastlines of western Java and southern Sumatra islands, and the numbers could increase once authorities hear from all stricken areas.

The Indonesian Medical Association says it is sending more doctors and medical equipment and that many of the injured are in need of orthopedic and neurosurgery expertise. It says most patients are domestic tourists who were visiting the beach during the long holiday weekend.

It was the second deadly tsunami to hit Indonesia this year, but the one that struck the island of Sulawesi on Sept. 28 was accompanied by a powerful earthquake that gave residents a brief warning before the waves struck.

On Saturday night, the ground did not shake beforehand to alert people to the oncoming wave that ripped buildings from their foundations in seconds and swept terrified concertgoers on a resort beach into the sea.

Dramatic video posted on social media showed the Indonesian pop band Seventeen performing under a tent on Tanjung Lesung beach at a concert for employees of a state-owned electricity company. Dozens of people sat at tables while others swayed to the music near the stage as strobe lights flashed and theatrical smoke was released. A child could also be seen wandering through the crowd.

Seconds later, with the drummer pounding just as the next song was about to begin, the stage suddenly heaved forward and buckled under the force of the water, tossing the band and its equipment into the audience.

The group released a statement saying their bass player, guitarist and road manager were killed, while two other band members and the wife of one of the performers were missing.

“The tide rose to the surface and dragged all the people on site,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, when the current receded, our members were unable to save themselves while some did not find a place to hold on.”

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Monday morning that 281 deaths had been confirmed and at least 1,016 people were injured.

The worst-affected area was the Pandeglang region of Java’s Banten province, which encompasses Ujung Kulon National Park and popular beaches, the agency said.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressed his sympathy and ordered government agencies to respond quickly to the disaster.

“My deep condolences to the victims in Banten and Lumpung provinces,” he said. “Hopefully, those who are left have patience.”

In the city of Bandar Lampung on Sumatra, hundreds of residents took refuge at the governor’s office, while at the popular resort area of Anyer beach on Java, some survivors wandered in the debris.

Many of those affected were domestic tourists enjoying the long holiday weekend, but foreigners were visiting the area ahead of Christmas as well.

“I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m (meters, or 50-65 feet) inland,” said Norwegian Oystein Lund Andersen, in a Facebook post. The self-described photographer and volcano enthusiast said he was taking pictures of the volcano when he suddenly saw the water racing toward him. He and his family fled safely to higher ground.

The damage became apparent after daybreak Sunday. Nine hotels and hundreds of homes were heavily damaged by the waves. Broken chunks of concrete and splintered sticks of wood littered hard-hit coastal areas, turning beach getaways popular with Jakarta residents into near ghost towns. Debris from thatch-bamboo shacks was strewn along beaches.

Yellow, orange and black body bags were laid out, and weeping relatives identified the dead.

Scientists, including those from Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics agency, said the tsunami could have been caused by landslides – either above ground or under water – on the steep slope of the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano. The scientists also cited tidal waves caused by the full moon.

The 305-meter (1,000-foot) -high Anak Krakatau, whose name means “Child of Krakatoa,” lies on an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra islands, linking the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea. It has been erupting since June and did so again about 24 minutes before the tsunami, the geophysics agency said.

The volcanic island formed over years after the 1883 eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, one of the largest, most devastating in recorded history. That disaster killed more than 30,000 people, launched far-reaching tsunamis and created so much ash that day was turned to night in the area and a global temperature drop was recorded.

Most of the island sank into a volcanic crater under the sea, and the area remained calm until the 1920s, when Anak Krakatau began to rise from the site. It continues to grow each year and erupts periodically.

Gegar Prasetya, co-founder of the Tsunami Research Center Indonesia, said Saturday’s tsunami was likely caused by a flank collapse – when a big section of a volcano’s slope gives way. It’s possible for an eruption to trigger a landslide above ground or beneath the ocean, both capable of producing waves, he said.

“Actually, the tsunami was not really big, only 1 meter (3.3 feet),” said Prasetya, who has studied Krakatoa. “The problem is people always tend to build everything close to the shoreline.”

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and home to 260 million people, lies along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. Roads and infrastructure are poor in many areas, making access difficult in the best of conditions.

A powerful quake on the island of Lombok killed 505 people in August. And the tsunami and earthquake that hit Sulawesi in September killed more than 2,100 people, and thousands more are believed buried in neighborhoods swallowed by a quake phenomenon known as liquefaction.

Saturday’s tsunami also rekindled memories of the massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake that hit Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004. It spawned a giant tsunami off Sumatra island, killing more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries – the majority in Indonesia.

Story: Niniek Karmini

JAKARTA — A tsunami apparently caused by undersea landslides from a volcanic island killed at least 20 people after the waves hit the coast around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, the government reported.

Another 165 people were hurt and dozens of buildings damaged Saturday night, the National Disaster Management Agency said.

The Meteorology and Geophysics agency in a separate statement said it could have been caused by undersea landslides from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano. It also cited tidal waves caused by the full moon.

The number of victims is likely to increase because not all affected areas have been assessed, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

“I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m (meters) inland,” Øystein Lund Andersen wrote on Facebook. He said he was taking pictures of the volcano when he suddenly saw a big wave come toward him.

“Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it. Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground trough forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of (by) the locals. Were unharmed, thankfully.”

The areas that were affected were South Lampung in Sumatra and the Serang and Pandeglang regions of Java, west of the capital Jakarta. The Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Footage posted by the head of the disaster agency showed the aftermath of flooded streets and an overturned car.

In September, more than 2,500 people were killed by a quake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, which is just east of Borneo.

JAKARTA — Indonesia finalized the transfer of majority control over a giant gold and copper mine from U.S. company Freeport-McMoRan, the government said Friday, in a long-awaited deal that boosts the president’s re-election campaign.

The Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. initially owned about 90 percent of the Grasberg mine since it began operating in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua in 1973. The rest has been owned by the Indonesian government.

“Today is a historic moment,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo told a news conference at the presidential palace in the capital, Jakarta, attended by related ministers of his cabinet and Freeport-McMoRan chief executive Richard Adkerson.

“We will use this majority ownership entirely for people’s prosperity. Our income in tax, revenues and royalties will be bigger and better,” Widodo said.

The landmark deal worth USD$3.85 billion to take over a 51.2 percent stake in PT Freeport Indonesia from the U.S. company was paid by state-owned PT Inalum mining company after environmental and smelting issues were settled, Widodo said.

The two sides had been on a collision course since a presidential regulation in 2012 imposed a limit of 49 percent on foreign ownership of companies issued new mining licenses. Foreign investors with ownership greater than 49 percent were required to sell shares to state-owned enterprises or privately owned Indonesian companies.

The mine in Papua, where a separatist movement simmers, has been the target of protests by Papuans who resent the region’s mineral wealth being exploited by the U.S. and Indonesia.

Widodo said people in Papua will also get 10 percent of ownership and regional taxes as well.

Apart from reduced ownership, Adkerson said the new permit given to Freeport Indonesia, which is valid until 2031, would give the company clarity over its operation in the country up to 2041 as the company could apply for a 10-year extension within five years before it expires.

He also said that Freeport agreed to convert its original agreement signed with the government of former dictator Suharto in 1991 to a new mining license. The original agreement expires in 2021.

Freeport will also increase its investment in smelting in Indonesia within five years, fulfilling a key demand of the government, which wants the country to get greater value from its mineral resources, and will invest an estimated $14 billion in the mine.

Widodo’s announcement has fueled feel-good nationalism that analysts say is likely to give him a lift in the polls heading to an April election.

Syamsuddin Harris, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said that Widodo’s success in taking majority ownership would widen his already substantial lead over his challenger for a second time, former general and ultranationalist politician Prabowo Subianto.

Inalum increased its share of ownership in PT Freeport Indonesia from 9.36 to 51.23 percent.

“This is what we have been waiting for a long time,” Widodo said. “It means we have settled all issues and work can start.”

Story: Niniek Karmini