A signal from one of the mobile numbers belonging to five\nphotojournalists and three crew members aboard the speedboat\nArupadundhatu 1 was briefly detected on Sebesi Island, Lampung. This\ninformation was received by the SAR team on the second day of the\nsearch, Wednesday, 9 September 2026. However, after sweeping the island,\nthe whereabouts of the eight individuals remain unknown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exact time was not detected. It only indicated that the\nreal-time position of the number was in Sebesi,\u201d said the Head of the\nBanten SAR Office, Al Amrad, when interviewed at the SAR post in\nPandeglang on Friday, 11 September 2026.<\/p>\n
The five missing photojournalists are M Bagus Khoirunnas from Antara,\nArie Basuki from Merdeka, Yudistiro Pranoto from iNews, Firman Daus from\nAnadolu Agency, and Donal Husni, a freelance journalist. The crew\nconsists of Warta as captain, Surakman as crew member, and Heriyanto as\nguide.<\/p>\n
The signal in Sebesi is one of the points being inspected by the SAR\nteam. However, this information does not necessarily mean the number is\nstill active or that the owner is on the island; it could be a false\nsignal or an invalid detection.<\/p>\n
The Head of Public Relations for the Banten Regional Police, Kombes\nMaruli Ahiles Hutapea, explained that they are not tracking the\nreal-time position or current monitoring, but rather the last\ntransmission while the device was still active.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssentially, to ensure we are not mistaken, the mobile phones (of\nthe missing journalists and crew) were active during the last\ncommunication,\u201d Maruli told detikX.<\/p>\n
That last transmission occurred on Monday, 7 September 2026, before\nthe group heading towards Mount Anak Krakatau lost contact. Since then,\nthere has been no further active mobile usage or communication with\ntheir families.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that, we lost contact with their families. They have lost\ncontact. Because of this loss of contact, their colleagues and relatives\ncame to the search post,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the last known coordinates of the group heading to Anak\nKrakatau were 6\u00b010\u201940.52\u201dS 105\u00b040\u201949.48\u201dE. This coordinate was obtained\nfrom one of the photojournalists who sent their current location to a\ncolleague at 14:42 WIB. The point is approximately 20 kilometres from\nthe Java (Banten) coast and about 30 km from Rakata Island\n(Krakatau).<\/p>\n
This point serves as the basis for the initial sweep by the joint SAR\nteam, commanded by Basarnas. The search zone continues to expand. The\nteam is calculating the potential movement of objects in the sea by\nobserving currents, wind, and waves.<\/p>\n
The search operation began on Tuesday, 8 September 2026. Information\nregarding Arupadhatu 1 was received by the Banten SAR Office at 13:55\nWIB. Twenty minutes later, one vessel moved along the route towards\nMount Anak Krakatau.<\/p>\n
The first sweep ended without results. The vessel returned to the\npost around 18:15 WIB.<\/p>\n
That night, KN SAR Tetuka moved from Bandar Bakau Jaya Pier towards\nthe incident site. The vessel returned and docked in Ciwandan at 21:42\nWIB.<\/p>\n
Results from the first day of searching prompted the team to expand\nthe operational area. The Navy, Marine Police, Port Authority and\nHarbormaster (KSOP), local communities, Banten SAR Office, and Lampung\nSAR Office have all been mobilised.<\/p>\n
The number of vessels increased from 11 on Thursday to 12 on Friday.\nAreas including Great Krakatau Island, Panjang Island, Sertung Island,\nand Sebesi Island are also included in the search zone.<\/p>\n
The team is using SAR map prediction to estimate the movement of\nobjects at sea, incorporating wind direction, currents, and waves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncluding the shift in currents, wind, and waves,\u201d Amrad explained\nregarding the basis for the prediction map.<\/p>\n
Aerial searches have also been conducted. On Thursday, helicopters\nswept from the eastern side of Mount Anak Krakatau towards the west. Fog\ncaused limited visibility, while ongoing volcanic activity prevented\nhelicopters from approaching too closely.<\/p>\n
From Ujung Kulon to the region between Lampung and Banten, areas have\nbeen searched. Weather conditions remain a challenge as wind and wave\ndirections can change throughout the day. However, no significant traces\nhave been found yet.<\/p>\n
Blurred Traces<\/strong><\/p>\n After several days of searching, the first traces appeared in the\nform of various objects found floating in the ocean. On Thursday, 10\nSeptember 2026, the third day of the search, KAL Anyer and the SAR team\nfound unidentified life jackets in the waters west of Anyer, near\nCikoneng-Labuan.<\/p>\n A day later, Friday, 11 September 2026, another orange life jacket\nwas found by KAL Anyer on the eastern side of Anak Krakatau. Both were\ninspected to confirm any connection to the missing vessel.<\/p>\n Investigations showed that these life jackets were not part of the\nequipment on the Arupadhatu 1. The found life jackets used zippers,\nwhereas Arupadhatu 1 only provided clip-on life jackets.<\/p>\n \u201cThe results of the inspection and interrogation of Mr Sandi, the\nvessel owner, show that neither Arupadhatu 1 nor Arupadhatu II uses life\njackets like the ones found. Therefore, they do not belong to the\nmissing Arupadhatu 1,\u201d stated Banten Regional Police Chief Irjen Hengky,\nas quoted by detikcom.<\/p>\n Other findings emerged as the search area widened. On Saturday, 12\nSeptember, KN SAR Tetuka found a blue jerrycan, a red helmet, and two\norange life jackets marked \u201cMILLES.II\u201d near the waters of Rakata\nIsland.<\/p>\n These items were cross-referenced with the equipment of KM Arupadhatu\n1. As a result, the Banten Regional Police confirmed that the jerrycan,\nhelmet, and two life jackets did not belong to the vessel carrying the\nfive journalists and three crew members.<\/p>\n On the following day, more findings appeared in several sectors. The\nteam found life jackets, two tarpaulins, and a water gallon. These items\nwere further examined as their origin was not immediately known.<\/p>\n Subsequent investigations by the Banten Regional Police confirmed\nthat the three life jackets, two tarpaulins, and the gallon found on the\nsixth day also did not belong to the group.<\/p>",
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