Indonesia searches for boat that went missing near Anak Krakatau volcano

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading the island of Anak Krakatau to report on a volcanic eruption, officials said Wednesday.

A speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten province, for the volcanic island in the Sunda Strait, said Al Amrad, Banten province's Search and Rescue Office chief.

He said the last message from the boat was received by relatives of a journalist on board at 6:13 p.m. Monday, saying the group had arrived in the waters around Anak Krakatau. They have not been heard from since.

The five Indonesian journalists work for Indonesia's state news agency Antara, Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Indonesia's Merdeka and iNews, while the fifth is a freelance photographer.

Their last known location was about 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) from shore. Rescuers, who have been deployed since Tuesday, “still unable to establish contact with the group or determine their whereabouts,” Amrad said.

The initial eruption of Anak Krakatau ended Sunday, but it has continued to erupt intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater.

The eruption caused airport closures Sunday and Monday that disrupted nearly 2,961 flights, including 622 international services, and affected about 341,000 passengers.

The government also authorized schools in areas affected by volcanic ash to shift temporarily to online learning to reduce students’ exposure to ash.

Anak Krakatau, whose name means “child of Krakatau,” emerged from the remains of Krakatau, whose massive 1883 eruption largely destroyed the volcano 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 advised residents, tourists and fishermen to stay at least 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from the active crater.

Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes and frequently experiences eruptions due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a series of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most global seismic activity occurs.

___

Associated Press journalists Fadlan Syam in Jakarta and Edna Tarigan in Surabaya, contributed to this report.