Indonesia: 8 missing, including 5 photojournalists, near Anak Krakatau

Indonesian rescue teams have expanded their search in the Sunda Strait following the disappearance of a speedboat carrying eight people, including five photojournalists who were covering the eruption of Anak Krakatau.

As of Wednesday evening, September 9, 2026, Indonesian authorities continued operations to locate the boat, which has been missing since Monday off the coast of Banten province. The group includes five journalists, two crew members, and a guide.

The vessel departed from a dock in Carita on Monday afternoon, heading towards Anak Krakatau, a volcano located between Java and Sumatra. The journalists work for the Antara news agency, Merdeka, iNews, Anadolu Agency, and as freelancers, according to local authorities and media.

The search has been extended to several areas of the Sunda Strait, utilizing resources from Basarnas, the police, and the Indonesian navy. Three warships have been deployed, while rescue teams have continued sweeping the waters around the islands near the volcano.

The operation is taking place in an area still exposed to volcanic activity. The Indonesian Center for Volcanology recorded a new eruption of Anak Krakatau on Wednesday at 12:47 am local time, lasting 28 seconds. Authorities have maintained a three-kilometer exclusion zone around the active crater.

Expanded search efforts in the Sunda Strait

Basarnas reported that the search area has been expanded to approximately 271 nautical miles, primarily to the southwest of Anak Krakatau. Teams have inspected the waters around Sebesi, Krakatau Besar, Krakatau Kecil, and Sertung, but no results were reported by the end of Wednesday’s operations.

The Indonesian navy has reinforced the search efforts with the vessels KRI Leuser-924, KRI Kerambit-627, and KRI Lepu-861. Rescue teams have also deployed fast boats and observation equipment to cover a maritime area that is difficult to monitor.

A still-active volcano

Anak Krakatau remains at the second-highest alert level in Indonesia. Authorities are urging residents, tourists, fishermen, and other sea users to stay at least three kilometers away from the crater.

A few days earlier, a significant eruptive phase of Anak Krakatau had paralyzed several Indonesian airports and disrupted hundreds of thousands of travelers. Air traffic has since resumed, but the volcano’s activity remains intermittent.

As of Wednesday evening, rescue authorities had not reported any location for the speedboat or contact with its occupants. They have requested that media and the public refrain from sharing unverified information during the ongoing search efforts.