Antara News·Indonesia·Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 02:29 PM

SAR team ends 10-day search for missing journalists in Sunda Strait

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M. Riezko Bima Elko Prasetyo, Yashinta Difa

..with a heavy heart, the joint operation is declared terminated,

Pandeglang, Banten (ANTARA) - The joint search and rescue (SAR) team has officially called off a 10-day search operation for five journalists and three crew members who went missing aboard the Arupadatu I speedboat in the Sunda Strait.

The conclusion of the search was announced by Banten Governor Andra Soni during a press conference at the Joint SAR Command Post at Marina Carita Pier, Pandeglang Regency, Banten, on Thursday evening.

"It is no longer effective; therefore, with a heavy heart, the joint operation is declared terminated," Governor Soni said.

He explained that throughout the 10-day operation, rescuers found no significant signs or debris indicating the whereabouts of the missing people or the speedboat across any of the designated search sectors.

The final day of active operations yielded similar results despite the deployment of 523 personnel for land, sea, and aerial searches covering an area of 8,509 square nautical miles.

Although the team had previously spotted 13 floating objects during maritime patrols, subsequent verification by the Banten Regional Police's Water and Air Police Directorate confirmed that none was linked to the Arupadatu I or its equipment.

Despite the termination of the active search phase, the provincial government and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) affirmed that the operation could be reopened at any time if credible new leads or reports emerge from the public.

Governor Soni expressed his appreciation to all joint SAR personnel involved in the humanitarian mission, as well as journalists covering the incident.

"Hopefully, we will obtain information that we can act upon, and thank you to our media colleagues who have continuously assisted with this operation over the past ten days," he concluded.

The incident began when the five journalists and three crew members departed by speedboat from Pagedongan Pier in Carita, Pandeglang Regency, Banten, at around 2 p.m. on Monday, September 7.

They were heading toward Mount Anak Krakatau to cover volcanic activity in the area.

The five journalists aboard the speedboat have been identified as M. Bagus Khoirunnas, a photojournalist with Antara News Agency; Ari Basuki, a photojournalist with Merdeka.com; Yudistiro Pranoto, a photojournalist with iNews.id; Firdaus Wajidi, a journalist with Anadolu Agency; and Donal Husni, a freelance photojournalist.

The other three people on board were Warta, the captain; Surakman, a crew member; and Heriyanto, a guide.

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