8 missing near Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau, including Anadolu cameraman - Anadolu Ajansı

Search and rescue efforts are underway for eight people, including five journalists, who went missing after traveling to the area around Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau island to cover a volcanic eruption, authorities said.

Al Amrad, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Indonesia’s Banten province, said in a statement that contact had been lost with a speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a guide.

🚨 Search-and-rescue efforts are underway for 8 people, including 5 journalists, missing near Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau island🔷 Contact was lost with their speedboat as they traveled to cover the Sept. 6 eruption of Anak Krakatau, which sent volcanic ash up to 15,000 meters… pic.twitter.com/awGEPoJNtH

Amrad said one of the journalists had sent a message to relatives saying they had reached waters around Anak Krakatau, adding that it was the last communication received from the group.

Search and rescue teams in the area have not yet been able to establish contact with the group or determine their location, he said.

Those reported missing include journalists working for Indonesia’s state news agency Antara, Merdeka and iNews, as well as Firdaus Wajidi, a freelance cameraman working for Anadolu.

Meanwhile, although the intense eruptions at Anak Krakatau have subsided, volcanic activity on the island continues.

An eruption occurred at Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano on Sept. 6, sending volcanic ash up to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) over Java and as high as 15,000 meters (49,213 feet) over Sumatra.

Flights were canceled at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the capital Jakarta after volcanic ash spread across western parts of the country.

More than 2,300 domestic and international flights were canceled nationwide following the eruption, leaving around 340,000 passengers stranded at seven airports.

Authorities later determined that conditions were safe for aviation, and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, along with three other airports where flights had been suspended following the eruption, resumed operations.