Ongoing search for eight missing people after volcano eruption in Indonesia

BANTEN PROVINCE, Indonesia (CBS, KYMA) - Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading the island of Anak Krakatau to report on a volcanic eruption, officials said Wednesday.

Footage released by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency showed rescue teams in Banten Province and the Sunda Strait on Tuesday.

A speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide had lost contact after departing from Carita, a coastal town in Banten Province, bound for the volcanic island located on the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra islands, said Al Amrad, Banten province's Search and Rescue Office Chief.

He said the last message from the boat was received by relatives of a journalist on board at 6:13 p.m. Monday, saying the group had arrived in the waters around Anak Krakatau. They have not been heard from since.

The five Indonesian journalists worked for Indonesia's state news agency Antara, Turkey's Anadolu Agency and several local and foreign media outlets.

Their last known location was about 11.5 miles from shore. Rescuers, who have been deployed since Tuesday, “still unable to establish contact with the group or determine their whereabouts,” Amrad said.

The initial eruption of Anak Krakatau ended Sunday, but it has continued to erupt intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater.