Eight Missing After Anak Krakatau Reporting Trip in Sunda Strait
Five journalists and three boat crew members remain missing after their vessel lost contact during an assignment near Anak Krakatau. A joint search operation ended after 10 days as relatives and colleagues waited in Carita.
CARITA, Indonesia — The disappearance of five journalists and three boat crew members during a reporting trip near Anak Krakatau has left families and colleagues waiting for answers on the Sunda Strait, a busy waterway between Java and Sumatra. Indonesia’s joint search-and-rescue operation ended after 10 days, but all eight remained missing.
The group was aboard the speedboat KM Arupadhatu 1 when it lost contact in waters around the volcanic island. The journalists had been covering Anak Krakatau, whose alert status was reported as Level 3. Search teams deployed equipment and dozens of vessels, and some rescuers searched islands near the volcano, including Sebesi and Sertung.
At a search post at Marina Carita harbor in Pandeglang, Banten province, reporters followed developments as families waited. Among the missing was Muhammad Bagus Khoirunnas, a photographer with Indonesia’s ANTARA news agency. His colleague, who had previously covered an assignment with him in Pandeglang, recognized his face in a photograph of the five journalists taken before they set out aboard the vessel.
Colleagues and family wait in Carita
Bagus’s wife, Desi Purnama Sari, also a journalist with ANTARA in Banten, waited on the coast and prayed for his safe return. The couple married on Dec. 22, 2024. “I’m sure Mas Bagus is somewhere, and he will come home safely,” she said at an inn near the harbor.
Bagus’s father, Mansyur Suryana, a contributor journalist in Banten, came to the search post to speak with reporters and rescuers. He described his only child as hardworking, artistic and willing to take risks to document important events.
“He is a hard worker, and his courage is extraordinary. He isn’t afraid wherever he goes to report important news,” Mansyur said.
Bagus’s father recalled that his son had continued working during a tsunami, focused on capturing images he believed needed to be shared. At Carita, relatives and colleagues held on to hope as the search operation concluded.
Eight people remain unaccounted for
The missing journalists were Bagus, Ari Basuki of Merdeka, Yudhistiro Pranoto of iNews, Firman Daus of Anadolu and freelance journalist Donal Husni. The three other people aboard were Warta, the boat’s captain; Surakman, a crew member; and Heriyanto, a guide.
Relatives and colleagues continued to pray at the coast after authorities called off the 10-day search. All eight people were still unaccounted for.
