Search Extends to 500 Metres Off Mount Anak Krakatau Coast, Hunt for Five Missing Journalists Still Yields Nothing

Efforts to locate the eight passengers of the Arupadhatu 1 speedboat, which lost contact in the Sunda Strait, have yet to bear fruit. Entering the eighth day of the search operation, the joint SAR team expanded its sweep to areas approaching Mount Anak Krakatau (GAK).

The team even moved to within roughly 500 metres of the Mount Anak Krakatau coastline to check information circulating on social media about the vessel’s whereabouts. However, the search in that location found no signs of the boat or its passengers.

Head of the Banten SAR Office, Al Amrad, said the team immediately carried out verification after receiving information about the suspected appearance of an object claimed to be the Arupadhatu 1.

“The SAR team in the field deployed a sea reader and flew a drone at a distance of approximately 500 metres from the Mount Anak Krakatau coastline to follow up on circulating information. However, after cross-checking, the results were still nil,” Al Amrad said at a press conference at the Joint SAR Main Post, Carita Beach, Pandeglang, on Tuesday, 15 September 2026.

According to Amrad, the area swept stretched from the waters north-east of Panaitan Island to the coastline of Mount Anak Krakatau. The location falls within search sector C.

Basarnas deployed the KN SAR Tetuka along with a number of other maritime vessels to verify the information. The field team was said to have had to move quickly because the information received came from social media posts.

“So our colleagues in the field were racing against time to verify it, and after carrying out a cross-check on that information, the results were nil,” he said.

Sweeps in Several Areas Also Unsuccessful

Beyond the waters around Mount Anak Krakatau, the joint SAR team also carried out searches in five other target areas. The sweep was expanded to several maritime zones, including around Enggano Island, Bengkulu and Lampung.

However, the hours-long search has not yielded new clues about the whereabouts of the eight people still listed as missing.

“The water sweeps in each of the other sectors lasted 9-10 hours. Also nil,” Amrad said.

Despite the lack of results, the search operation is set to continue. On Wednesday (16 September), the search entered its ninth day, involving at least 20 vessels from various agencies.