Anak Krakatau eruption: Search widens for eight missing journalists at sea

Indonesian rescue teams were searching on Wednesday for eight people who went missing at sea while travelling to Anak Krakatau to report on the volcano's eruption, officials said.

The missing group includes five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide, who were on a speedboat that lost contact after reaching waters around the volcanic island. The search was under way as Anak Krakatau continued to erupt intermittently and authorities warned that volcanic activity remained high.

According to Indonesia's Geology Agency, Anak Krakatau first erupted for about 25 hours over the weekend and has since continued to erupt from time to time, with explosions sending out lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater.

Al Amrad, chief of Banten province's Search and Rescue Office, said the speedboat left Carita, a coastal town in Banten province, for the volcanic island. The last message from the boat was received by relatives of a journalist on board at 6.13 pm on Monday, saying the group had arrived in waters around Anak Krakatau. They have not been heard from since.

The five Indonesian journalists work for the state news agency Antara, Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Indonesia's Merdeka and iNews, while the fifth is a freelance photographer. Their last known location was about 18.5 kilometres from shore. Rescuers deployed since Tuesday were, in Amrad's words, "still unable to establish contact with the group or determine their whereabouts".

Videos and photographs released by the authorities showed rescue teams searching the waters, while anxious relatives gathered at the port office in Carita waiting for news. Amrad said the search area was widened on Wednesday across the Sunda Strait, from Carita and the islands of Rakata and Panjang to waters around Sebesi and Legundi islands. Five vessels, including two navy ships, were deployed, with personnel from the National Search and Rescue Agency, the military and the police taking part.

The Geology Agency warned that the probability of further eruptions was still high. It said possible hazards included volcanic bombs, heavy ashfall and lava flows if continuous eruptions resumed. The eruption led to airport closures on Sunday and Monday, disrupting 2,961 flights, including 622 international services, and affecting about 341,000 passengers. The government also allowed schools in areas hit by volcanic ash to temporarily switch to online classes to reduce students' exposure to ash.

Anak Krakatau, which means "child of Krakatau", emerged from the remains of Krakatau after the massive 1883 eruption that largely destroyed the volcano and triggered a period of global cooling. An eruption of Anak Krakatau in 2018 caused a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java. The volcano has been at Indonesia's second-highest alert level since July, and authorities have asked residents, tourists and fishermen to stay at least 3 kilometres away from the active crater. Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes and frequently sees eruptions because it lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire". As the volcano remains active, rescuers continued their search for the missing group across a wider stretch of sea on Wednesday.

With PTI Inputs