Rescuers Scour Sunda Strait for Eight Missing After Anak Krakatau Eruption

Indonesian rescue teams are continuing their search for eight people who went missing at sea while travelling to the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials said on Wednesday.

The group was aboard a speedboat that departed from Carita, a coastal town in Banten province, bound for the volcanic island situated in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The passengers included five photojournalists, two crew members, and a route guide.

According to Al Amrad, the head of Banten province's Search and Rescue Office, the boat's last communication was received by a journalist's relative at 6:13 p.m. on Monday. The message indicated the group had reached the waters around Anak Krakatau. No contact has been established since.

The journalists on board were working for Indonesia's state news agency Antara, Turkey's Anadolu Agency, and several other local and foreign media outlets.

Footage released by Indonesia's national search and rescue agency shows teams conducting briefings and deploying rubber boats in the Sunda Strait on Tuesday. The search operation is focusing on an area approximately 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) from the shore, the group's last known location.

Amrad stated that rescuers, who have been deployed since Tuesday, are still unable to establish contact with the group or determine their whereabouts.

The initial major eruption of Anak Krakatau subsided on Sunday, but the volcano has continued to erupt intermittently, with explosions ejecting lava, ash, and incandescent material from its crater.