Indonesia Reopens Airports But Journalists Missing After Krakatau Eruption (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

JAKARTA/ANYER (Worthy News) – Indonesia reopened all eight airports closed by volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau, including Jakarta’s main international airport, but concern remained as rescuers searched Wednesday for at least seven people, including five journalists who disappeared while reporting on the eruption.

Authorities warned that further volcanic activity could cause renewed disruption after Anak Krakatau, in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, erupted several more times Tuesday.

Ash from the volcano has blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas since the latest major eruptive episode began late Friday, forcing authorities to close airports for safety reasons and upending travel for about 341,000 passengers.

Nearly 3,000 flights were affected by the closures, while 178 aircraft grounded at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport required airworthiness checks following exposure to volcanic ash.

“It was very scary. I even saw doors moving in our hotel room because of a tremor related to the eruption. We were told to wear masks,” said Victoria, a Christian church worker who uses one name and was staying in the coastal town of Anyer, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the volcano.

ONGOING BOOMS

“Then there was the sound, like an ongoing boom-boom,” she told Worthy News.

Anyer lies along the Sunda Strait, where the catastrophic 1883 eruption of Krakatau and the massive tsunamis it generated devastated coastal communities, killing more than 36,000 people. The explosions were heard thousands of kilometers away, and volcanic material blasted high into the atmosphere contributed to a measurable drop in global temperatures.

Despite the reopening of the airports, authorities cautioned that aviation could again be affected depending on the height of further ash columns and prevailing winds.

Anak Krakatau erupted several times Tuesday, although the eruptions were smaller than the explosive activity that earlier sent ash tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere.

The volcano remained at Indonesia’s second-highest alert level as authorities continued monitoring its activity.

JOURNALISTS MISSING

Separately, Indonesian rescue teams continued searching Wednesday for a speedboat carrying at least seven people, including five journalists who disappeared while covering the eruption.

Initial reports differed over the number aboard. Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, known as Basarnas, said its latest information showed it was seeking at least seven people, including the five journalists and two others whose identities were still being verified.

Indonesian media identified the five missing journalists as Bagas Khoirunnas of ANTARA News Agency, Ari Basuki of Merdeka, Yudhis of iNews, Daus of Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency, and freelance photojournalist Donal.

As the search continued without any sign of the missing group, hopes of finding them alive were fading.

“We will continue the search tomorrow. We express our condolences,” said Basarnas Deputy for Operations Edy Prakoso while pledging that rescuers would continue their efforts.

VOLCANIC DANGER

Prakoso said the continuing volcanic activity posed a significant challenge to rescuers. “Anak Krakatau can still erupt and spew volcanic material at any time, and we must proceed with caution,” he added.

Investigators said the speedboat left Pagedongan Dock in Carita, in Indonesia’s Banten province on the western coast of Java, at about 2 p.m. Monday for a reporting assignment at Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait.

The last known communication came at 2:42 p.m., when one of the journalists sent the boat’s location to colleagues in Lampung province, across the strait on Sumatra. Communications were reportedly lost soon after at 3:04 p.m. local time.

An initial search covering Krakatau Island and Panjang Island found no trace of the missing group.

Banten SAR Office officials said rescuers would expand the search area after studying the speedboat’s route from Carita toward Anak Krakatau.

DIFFICULT SEARCH

The operation faced difficult conditions, including limited visibility, waves reaching about 2 meters (6.6 feet), winds and volcanic ash, while additional assistance was being provided by Indonesian police and other authorities.

The volcanic unrest was not limited to Anak Krakatau. Mount Ibu and Ili Lewotolok also erupted Tuesday, while several other Indonesian volcanoes recorded eruptions in recent days. However, those eruptions were generally less disruptive than the Anak Krakatau activity, which spread ash across heavily populated areas and forced major airports to close, according to official reports.

Indonesia also experienced several earthquakes in recent days, including a magnitude-5.2 quake near Ruteng on Tuesday and a magnitude-5.4 quake southeast of Cilacap on Friday. No deaths were reported from either quake, and authorities issued no tsunami warnings.

Authorities did not suggest that the earthquakes and eruptions at the different volcanoes were directly connected.

Passengers flying through the region also described an ominous atmosphere, telling Worthy News they saw “very dark clouds” from their aircraft as Indonesia grappled with the volcanic activity.

CHILD OF KRAKATAU

Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes and sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a vast zone of tectonic activity where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.

Anak Krakatau — Indonesian for “Child of Krakatau” — emerged from the sea in the volcanic caldera left by the legendary Krakatau eruption of 1883.

Anak Krakatau itself suffered a major collapse in December 2018, triggering a tsunami in the Sunda Strait that killed more than 400 people.

Officials stressed that the current activity does not mean similar disasters are imminent, but authorities continued monitoring Anak Krakatau closely as Indonesia dealt with heightened volcanic activity across the archipelago.