5 Journalists Reported to Have Lost Contact During Anak Krakatau Eruption Coverage

Five journalists and two crew members have been reported to have lost contact while travelling to cover the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait.

The Search and Rescue (SAR) team from Basarnas Banten is currently being deployed to conduct searches around the site of the incident.

The Head of Basarnas Banten, Al Amrad, explained that the group initially departed through Banten waters on Monday (7/9) afternoon.

“On Monday, 7 September 2026, at 14:00 WIB, Banten journalists departed from the Pagedongan Carita pier to cover the activity of Mount Anak Krakatau,” said Al Amrad in a statement cited by detikcom on Tuesday (8/9).

Before being declared missing, one of the journalists in the group had established communication with a colleague in Lampung. In that final communication, the journalist shared the vessel’s live location.

“The last communication from the victims to a Lampung journalist named Abay showed that at 14:42 (7/9), a final location share was sent, and at 15:04, contact was lost. As of this report, the victims have not been found,” Amrad explained.

Based on updated data from Basarnas as of Tuesday (8/9) evening at 19:40 WIB, it has been confirmed that there were seven people in the group travelling to the Sunda Strait on the vessel. The group consisted of five journalists and two crew members.

To date, sweeping and search efforts continue to be carried out by joint task forces.