5 Journalists Vanish Near Anak Krakatau During Volcano Mission — Their Last Shared Location Could Be the Key

Eight people vanished from contact during a reporting trip toward Indonesia’s erupting Anak Krakatau volcano. Now rescuers are expanding their search across the Sunda Strait, with one last shared location providing a crucial clue.

JAKARTA — An Indonesian search operation has intensified for eight people, including five journalists, who went missing while travelling by speedboat to cover the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, adding a maritime emergency to days of disruption caused by one of the country's most closely watched volcanoes.

The group departed from Pagedongan Pier in Carita, Banten, at around 2 p.m. local time on Monday, September 7, heading into the Sunda Strait to document Anak Krakatau's volcanic activity.

Less than an hour later, contact began to disappear.

According to information from Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, one of the journalists sent a location to a colleague in Lampung at approximately 2:42 p.m. Communication with the group was subsequently lost, with Indonesian reports placing the final loss of contact at around 3:04 p.m.

By Wednesday morning, there had been no confirmed announcement that the missing speedboat or its passengers had been found.

Five Journalists Among Eight Missing

The speedboat was carrying five journalists, two crew members and a guide, according to Basarnas and CNA.

The journalists represented several Indonesian and international news organisations, including ANTARA, Merdeka.com, iNews and Anadolu Agency, together with a freelance photographer.

ANTARA identified its missing photographer as Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas and said it had formed a dedicated team to coordinate with Basarnas, Banten police and other agencies involved in the operation.

The other journalists have been identified in Indonesian media as photographers or reporters associated with Merdeka.com, iNews, Anadolu Agency and freelance media work.

Authorities have not publicly established what caused the boat to disappear from contact.

That distinction is important: there is currently no confirmed evidence that the speedboat sank or that the disappearance was directly caused by the volcanic eruption.

One Last Location Could Be Crucial

The group's final shared location has become a major reference point for rescuers.

Basarnas said a journalist aboard the boat communicated with a colleague in Lampung and transmitted a location shortly after departure. Search teams subsequently began sweeping waters between Carita and the Anak Krakatau area.

The initial operation involved rescue personnel, police and other maritime authorities.

Conditions complicated the effort. CNA, citing ANTARA, reported that high waves and poor visibility hampered parts of the search, and operations were halted Tuesday before plans were made to resume Wednesday morning.

The Wednesday operation was expected to be significantly reinforced.

Basarnas Banten operations official Rizky Dwianto told iNews that four vessels and two drones would be deployed, with local fishermen also taking part and additional support coming from the Indonesian Navy.

The search was scheduled to resume at around 7 a.m. WIB on September 9.

Journalists Were Covering a Major Anak Krakatau Eruption

The missing group had travelled toward the volcano during an extraordinary period of activity at Anak Krakatau.

The volcano, situated in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, began a major eruptive episode late last week.

Ash from the eruption spread across western Indonesia and created serious aviation hazards.

At one stage, eight airports suspended flight operations, including Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Reuters reported that the disruption ultimately affected more than 340,000 travellers, while thousands of flights were cancelled, delayed or otherwise affected.

Ash reached extraordinary altitudes during the eruption, with observations indicating plumes reaching as high as 50,000 feet on the Sumatra side of the volcano.

Schools in affected areas were moved online, fishermen suspended some operations, and residents were urged to wear masks and reduce exposure to volcanic ash.

By Tuesday, however, conditions had improved enough for Indonesia to reopen the airports that had been closed because of the ash.

Authorities still warned that Anak Krakatau remained active. Reuters reported three smaller eruptions on Tuesday, meaning the immediate aviation emergency had eased but the volcano itself had not become dormant.

Why Anak Krakatau Is Watched So Closely

Anak Krakatau — literally the “Child of Krakatau” — emerged from the volcanic complex left behind after the catastrophic 1883 Krakatau eruption.

That disaster generated enormous tsunamis and killed more than 36,000 people.

More recently, Anak Krakatau experienced a major flank collapse in December 2018, generating another tsunami that struck coastal communities in Java and Sumatra and killed more than 400 people.

Because of that history, major changes in the volcano's activity are closely monitored.

Indonesia's disaster authorities have said the current eruption does not indicate an imminent tsunami threat, although volcanic hazards remain and people and vessels have been instructed to maintain a safe distance from the crater.

Anak Krakatau has remained at Alert Level III, the country's second-highest volcanic warning level, since July 2.

A Search Against Time — But Key Questions Remain Unanswered

The disappearance now leaves investigators and rescuers with several critical questions.

Was there a mechanical problem aboard the speedboat?

Did sea conditions force it away from its planned route?

Did the vessel suffer a communications failure while remaining afloat?

Or did something more serious happen in the waters surrounding Anak Krakatau?

Authorities have not yet provided evidence establishing any of those scenarios.

The owner of the boat has told Indonesian media that the vessel was considered seaworthy when it departed and was carrying required documentation and life jackets. That claim has not, however, established what happened after the group entered the Sunda Strait.

For now, rescuers are concentrating on finding the vessel and the eight people aboard it.

What began as a journalism assignment to document one of Indonesia's most consequential volcanic eruptions has therefore become another emergency — this time unfolding on the water.

And with the final location transmitted shortly after the speedboat left Carita, the expanding search around that last known position could now determine what happened to the missing journalists and their companions.

WWC ONE MEDIA M.J.E