Airlines told to inspect aircraft after Anak Krakatau's eruption

Jakarta, Indonesia: A joint search and rescue operation is underway to locate five Indonesian media personnel who have lost contact while covering the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau near Sebesi Island in Lampung, southern Sumatra. The team, comprising Muhammad Bagus Khoirunnas from Antara, Arie Basuki from Merdeka.com, Yudistiro Pranoto from iNews, Firdaus Wajidi from Türkiye's Anadolu Agency, and freelance journalist Donal Husni, was traveling on a speedboat from Anyer, Banten, to the Krakatau area.

The last communication with the group was received from Muhammad Bagus at around 4pm yesterday. Authorities are searching both land and sea areas in Sebesi Island and around Mount Anak Krakatau for any trace of the missing media personnel. Three boat crew members, Warta, Surakman, and Heriyanto, aged 55, 60, and 49 respectively, are also unaccounted for, bringing the total number of missing people to eight.

Mount Anak Krakatau has been erupting over the past few days, releasing volcanic ash that has spread to several areas in western Indonesia and disrupted flight operations. The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has deployed teams to the search operation today.