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Search intensifies for journalists, crew as Anak Krakatau ashfall eases

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) brought its Lampung office into the operation after search mapping indicated that the vessel could have drifted into waters under its jurisdiction.

Radhiyya Indra (The Jakarta Post)
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Wed, September 9, 2026

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Five journalists pose on a boat on Sept. 7 that took them to cover the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in Lampung, before they were reported missing. Rescuers resumed the search operation on Sept. 9 for a speedboat carrying eight people, including the five journalists, that lost contact with the boat owner soon after departure, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). Five journalists pose on a boat on Sept. 7 that took them to cover the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in Lampung, before they were reported missing. Rescuers resumed the search operation on Sept. 9 for a speedboat carrying eight people, including the five journalists, that lost contact with the boat owner soon after departure, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). (AFP/Unknown)

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uthorities on Wednesday expanded the search across the Sunda Strait for five photojournalists and three others who went missing near Mount Anak Krakatau earlier this week, as several areas affected by the volcano’s ashfall began returning to normal.

A joint search and rescue team involving the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the National Police and the Navy deployed five teams to search a wider area after Tuesday’s operation failed to locate the group.

The missing photojournalists are Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas of state news agency Antara, Arie Basuki of Merdeka.com, Yudistiro Pranoto of iNews, Daus of Turkey’s Anadolu Agency and freelance photographer Donal Husni. They were traveling with two speedboat crew members and a tour guide.

The group left Pagedongan pier in Carita, Pandeglang, Banten, at around 2 p.m. on Monday aboard a speedboat to cover Mount Anak Krakatau, which sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra and had been erupting continuously for 25 hours from Friday night into Saturday, blanketed surrounding areas with volcanic ash.

Authorities recorded the boat lost contact at 3:04 p.m. the same day.

Read also: Airspace reopens as Krakatau’s activity subsides

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“We are now expanding the search area to the southwest of Anak Krakatau based on our map results,” Banten Basarnas operations section head Riski Dwiyanto said in Pandeglang on Wednesday, Antara reported.

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