Jakarta, Sept 9. (dpa/GNA) – Search and rescue efforts for a boat carrying eight people, including five journalists covering the eruption of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano, resumed on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
The eruption threw air traffic in Indonesia into chaos, with tens of thousands of people stranded on Java and Sumatra since the weekend, and multiple airports shut due to volcanic ash.
The missing journalists are Indonesian citizens and are employed by local and international media, including state news agency Antara and Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu, the Jakarta Post reported.
Also on board were the captain, a crew member and a guide.
The boat set out on Monday, but lost contact soon after departure, the National Search and Rescue Agency said. There has so far been no clear explanation for the boat’s disappearance.
The military, the police and fishermen in the region, also took part in the search. The navy has since deployed three warships to assist.
The search had been temporarily suspended, due to dangerous weather conditions and high waves. However, the weather situation has calmed down and is no longer a problem, said operations coordinator Rizky Dwianto.
As neither helicopters nor aeroplanes could be deployed due to volcanic ash still suspended in the air, two thermal imaging drones were to be used.
The search radius has since been expanded: there is hope of finding the missing people alive. They could, among others, be stranded on smaller uninhabited islands, explained Dwianto.
Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Krakatau, was created after the legendary eruption of Krakatau volcano in 1883, which killed an estimated 35,000 people.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity. It is home to around 120 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
GNA