Eight missing as journalists' boat loses contact near Anak Krakatau

Indonesian rescuers are searching for eight people missing on a speedboat near Anak Krakatau. The disappearance has heightened concern as the volcano keeps erupting and disrupting flights and schools.Indonesian rescuers are searching for eight people who went missing at sea while travelling to Anak Krakatau to report on a volcanic eruption, officials said on Wednesday.The group was on a speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide. The boat lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten province, for the volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, according to Al Amrad, chief of Banten province's Search and Rescue Office.Amrad said the last message from the boat was received by relatives of one of the journalists at 6.13 pm on Monday, saying the group had reached waters around Anak Krakatau. There has been no contact since then.The five Indonesian journalists worked for Indonesia's state news agency Antara, Turkiye's Anadolu Agency, and several local and foreign media organisations. Their last known location was about 18.5 km from shore. Rescuers have been searching since Tuesday but are "still unable to establish contact with the group or determine their whereabouts," Amrad said. The initial eruption of Anak Krakatau ended on Sunday, but the volcano has continued to erupt intermittently, with explosions sending out lava, ash and glowing volcanic material from the crater. The eruption led to airport closures on Sunday and Monday, disrupting nearly 2,961 flights, including 622 international services, and affecting about 341,000 passengers.The government also allowed schools in areas affected by volcanic ash to temporarily shift to online classes to reduce students' exposure to ash. Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, rose from the remains of Krakatau after the volcano's massive 1883 eruption, which largely destroyed it 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 km away from the active crater. Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes and frequently experiences eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where much of the world's seismic activity takes place.Rescue teams remained engaged in the search for the missing boat passengers as Anak Krakatau continued to erupt intermittently, with the latest activity also affecting flights and schools in ash-hit areas.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 9, 2026 13:08 IST