SAR team focuses search for journalists near Mount Anak Krakatau

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3 hours ago

Pandeglang, Banten (ANTARA) –

The joint search and rescue (SAR) team focused its efforts on locating the missing journalists in the area closest to Mount Anak Krakatau on the fourth day of the search operation.

The head of the Banten SAR Office, Al Amrad, stated that the search was centered on four sectors and one special sector covering islands located approximately 3 kilometers from Mount Anak Krakatau.

“For the special sector outside the four previously designated sectors, we deployed the KN SAR Tetuka and RIB 02 Banten. RIB 02 returned to Marina Pier at 3:31 p.m. after conducting a search around the Anak Krakatau area. The team also searched three points on the islands of Rakata, Sertung, and Panjang, including on land,” he explained on Friday.

Amrad noted that despite sweeping the four sectors on the fourth day, the joint SAR team had yet to find any leads regarding the five missing journalists and three crew members.

“The overall result was nil. The only item recovered was a single life jacket found by the Navy vessel KAL Anyer,” he continued.

As part of the intensified search effort, the KN SAR Tetuka and the RIB 02 Banten spent approximately three hours sweeping the islands surrounding Mount Anak Krakatau.

Amrad mentioned that favorable weather conditions supported the ground search near Mount Anak Krakatau, allowing the team to dock at the three islands and go ashore to sweep the terrain.

An aerial search using helicopter 3604 was also conducted, involving a sweep of the area where the speedboat had lost contact, lasting approximately one hour, he added.

“We operated based on the Last Known Position (LKP), the point where contact with the speedboat was presumed lost. The helicopter returned safely to Carita at 5:00 p.m., but the search yielded no results,” he stated.

The incident began when the five journalists and three crew members departed by speedboat from Pagedongan Pier in Carita, Pandeglang District, Banten, at around 2:00 p.m. on Monday (September 7).

They were heading toward Mount Anak Krakatau to cover volcanic activity in the area.

The five journalists aboard the speedboat have been identified as M. Bagus Khoirunnas, a photojournalist with Antara News Agency; Ari Basuki, a photojournalist from Merdeka.com; Yudistiro Pranoto, a photojournalist with iNews.id; Firdaus Wajidi, a journalist with Anadolu Agency; and Donal Husni, a freelance photojournalist.

The other three people on board were the captain, a crew member, and a guide.