Search for Five Missing Journalists at Anak Krakatau Enters Tenth Day

Today marks the tenth day, or the final day, of the search for five journalists and three ship crew members who lost contact near Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait. If no clues are found today, will the operation be extended?

“In accordance with our regulations, we will extend it for three days. According to the rules of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), if no signs of the victims are found, we will continue with monitoring,” stated the Head of the Basermas Banten Office, Al Amrad, on Thursday (17/09/2026).

According to Amrad, if any clues regarding the whereabouts of the eight individuals appear at any time, the search operation will be reopened.

“If there are signs that the victims have been found, we will reopen the operations,” he added.

It is known that the five journalists and three crew members departed for the area around Mount Anak Krakatau on Monday (07/09). The group was declared missing, and the search process by the SAR Team commenced on Tuesday (08/09).

The five journalists are M Bagus Khoirunnas (ANTARA), Ari Basuki (Merdeka.com), Yudistiro Pranoto (iNews), Firman Daus (Anadolu Agency), and Donal Husni (freelance journalist).

Additionally, the three missing crew members are Warta/Surahman (ship captain), Sukarman (crew member), and Heriyanto (guide).

Previously, on the ninth day, Wednesday (16/09), the joint SAR Team deployed 22 vessels for the search operation. They surveyed an area of 3,439 nautical miles (NM) squared across eight sectors.

The results of the search at that time were nil. Furthermore, the SAR Team has also been coordinating with the Basarnas Bengkulu Office for the search process.

“For today, we are also involving search efforts from our colleagues at the Bengkulu SAR Office, conducting sweeps around Enggano Island and the Bengkulu coastline, which have also yielded no results,” said Al Amrad.