Search and rescue efforts are under way for eight people, including five journalists, who went missing after travelling to the area around Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau island to cover a volcanic eruption, authorities have said.
Al Amrad, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Indonesia’s Banten province, said in a statement that contact had been lost with a speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a guide.
Amrad said one of the journalists had sent a message to relatives saying they had reached waters around Anak Krakatau, adding that it was the last communication received from the group.
Search and rescue teams in the area have not yet been able to establish contact with the group or determine their location, he said.
Those reported missing include journalists working for Indonesia’s state news agency Antara, Merdeka and iNews, as well as Firdaus Wajidi, a freelance cameraman working for Anadolu.
Volcanic eruption disrupted air traffic
Meanwhile, although the intense eruptions at Anak Krakatau have subsided, volcanic activity on the island continues.
An eruption occurred at Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano on September 6, sending volcanic ash up to 6,000 metres over Java and as high as 15,000 metres over Sumatra.
Flights were cancelled at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the capital Jakarta after volcanic ash spread across western parts of the country.
More than 2,300 domestic and international flights were cancelled nationwide following the eruption, leaving around 340,000 passengers stranded at seven airports.
Authorities later determined that conditions were safe for aviation, and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, along with three other airports where flights had been suspended following the eruption, resumed operations.
