Rescuers are searching for eight people, including five Indonesian photojournalists, who have gone missing at sea near the Anak Krakatau volcano. The group was traveling by speedboat to report on the volcano's ongoing eruptions when contact was lost.
Officials stated that the speedboat departed from Carita, a coastal town in Banten province, on Monday. It was bound for the volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra islands. The last known communication from the boat was at 6:13 p.m. Monday, when a journalist on board sent a message to relatives indicating they had reached the waters around Anak Krakatau. They have not been heard from since.
The missing journalists worked for Indonesia's state news agency Antara, Turkey's Anadolu Agency, and various other domestic and international media outlets. Their last known position was approximately 11.5 miles offshore. Rescuers were deployed Tuesday but have been unable to establish contact or determine the group's whereabouts.
Anak Krakatau, which means "child of Krakatau," has been erupting intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash, and incandescent volcanic material. The initial eruption phase concluded Sunday, but volcanic activity has continued. In 2018, an eruption of Anak Krakatau triggered a tsunami that resulted in over 430 deaths in Sumatra and Java.
The volcano has been at Indonesia's second-highest alert level since July, with authorities advising against approaching within 1.9 miles of the active crater. Indonesia, situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," experiences frequent volcanic activity due to its location on a series of seismic faults.