Indonesia halts search for missing journalists in volcano eruption

Indonesian rescuers have stopped searching for eight people missing at sea for the tenth day. Among the missing are five journalists who covered the eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano, Reuters reported.

The end of the search was announced by the Governor of the province of Banten Andra Soni. She said the operation could resume if rescuers have new data.

Ashes from Anak Krakatau volcano, located halfway between the islands of Java and Sumatra, covered the capital Jakarta and some surrounding areas after the eruption on September 4. The next day there were several more eruptions, recorded about ten emissions of ash and lava. Photojournalists from local and foreign media, including Turkey’s Anadolu agency, traveled to the volcano from Banten province on September 7 by speedboat. Soon communication with them was cut off.

Ernest Philippowski