Rescuers head out to sea by boat to conduct a search and rescue operation in Pandeglang, Banten Province, Indonesia, Sept. 10, 2026. Indonesian rescuers on Wednesday expanded the search area for a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists, that lost contact while covering the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait. The boat departed from a pier in Carita, Banten province, at around 2 p.m. local time on Monday for the area around Mount Anak Krakatau before losing contact, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency. (Xinhua/Veri Sanovri)
JAKARTA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian rescuers on Wednesday expanded the search area for a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists, that lost contact while covering the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait.
The boat departed from a pier in Carita, Banten province, at around 2 p.m. local time on Monday for the area around Mount Anak Krakatau before losing contact, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency.
Riski Dwiyanto, operations chief of the Banten search and rescue office, said the search area had been expanded southwest of Mount Anak Krakatau based on digital mapping analysis.
Six vessels were deployed in the search operation, with personnel from Basarnas, the military, and the police involved.
The search entered its second day on Wednesday, with families of the missing people arriving at the search post for updates on the operation. ■