ZOAHARIAN.COM – Five journalists reportedly lost contact while covering the activities of Mount Anak Krakatau (GAK) in the Sunda Strait, Pandeglang Regency, Banten. They are known to be on a fast boat with three other people.

This incident occurred when the group departed from Pagedongan Pier, Carita, Pandeglang, on Monday (7/9/2026) at around 14.00 WIB. They used the Arupadhatu 1 fast boat to the Mount Anak Krakatau area.

Head of the Banten Search and Rescue Office, Al Amrad, said the ship was carrying eight people.

The group consisted of Warta (55) as captain, Surakman (60) as crew member (ABK), and Heriyanto (49) who served as guide.

Meanwhile, the other five passengers are journalists, namely M Bagus Khoirunnas from Antara Bureau Banten, Ari Basuki from Merdeka, Yudhis from iNews, Daus from Anadolu, and Donal who is a freelance journalist.

Before leaving, M Bagus Khoirunnas sent a photo of himself and four other journalists to his wife, Desi Purnamasari. The photo was one of the last known communications from the group.

The journey from Pagedongan Pier to the Mount Anak Krakatau area is estimated to take around two hours.

At 14.42 WIB, Bagus still had time to communicate with Abay, a journalist with Antara Bureau Lampung who was on Sebesi Island. In this communication, Bagus conveyed information as well as updated the group's latest position.

However, communication was cut off at around 15.04 WIB. After that, Abay could no longer contact Bagus.

At around 18.13 WIB, Heriyanto sent a photo showing himself in the area around Mount Anak Krakatau.

SAR Team Combs Sunda Strait Waters

The loss of contact with the group was then reported to Basarnas. The report was submitted by the head of the Antara Banten Bureau, Bayu Kuncahyo, on Tuesday (8/9/2026) afternoon.

Following up on this report, the USS Pandeglang Rescue Team immediately gathered information regarding the group's whereabouts before carrying out a search.

The team used RIB 02 Banten to go to the group's last point of communication.

"The team then conducted a search in the direction of Krakatoa and a number of water areas suspected of being the location of the speed boat," said Amrad, quoted from Kompas.com.

The search was not only carried out towards the Mount Anak Krakatau area. Officers also expanded the search to around Rakata Island and Panjang Island.

However, until the first day of combing operations was stopped at around 18.00 WIB, officers had not found the Arupadhatu 1 ship or the eight people on board.

The operation was then strengthened by the deployment of KN SAR Tetuka 247 from BBJ Harbor to the search location.

Upon arrival at the operational area, KN SAR Tetuka carried out visual searches and monitoring along the designated route.

At 21.05 WIB, the ship reached Sangiang waters. KN SAR Tetuka had planned to leave the anchor, but the current conditions were quite strong, meaning that this plan was not carried out.

The ship was then directed to Ciwandan Harbor while continuing to carry out searches and visual monitoring along the way.

KN SAR Tetuka 247 finally arrived at Ciwandan Harbor at 22.12 WIB and managed to dock safely.

Search Continues Today

The Joint SAR Team then held an evaluation briefing at 22.46 WIB. Based on the evaluation results, it was decided to resume the search operation on Wednesday (9/9/2026).

"The first day of SAR operations closed with zero results," said Amrad.

In follow-up operations, the Joint SAR Team will expand the search area. The sweeping area will be adjusted according to the evaluation results and developments in conditions in the field.

To support the search, an integrated SAR post was established at Marina Pier, Carita, Pandeglang, Banten.

Until operations resume, five journalists along with the captain, crew and ship guide are still being searched. The Joint SAR Team continues to try to find their whereabouts in the waters of the Sunda Strait.

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