JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers formally called off a search on Thursday (Sept 17) for eight people, including five journalists sent to cover a volcanic eruption, nearly two weeks after their speedboat went missing in waters between Java and Sumatra islands, an official said.
"The national search and rescue said that as this search and rescue operation has been deemed ineffective, with a heavy heart the joint operation... is hereby declared terminated," Banten province governor Andra Soni told reporters.
"From the first day of the joint search and rescue operation up to the 10th day, including the three-day extension, it has been reported that no signs have been found of the vessel, its passengers or the crew on board."
The five Indonesian journalists on board were sent to capture photos and video of the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, which blanketed cities in volcanic ash and prompted multiple airports to close.
They were working for local and international media, including state news agency Antara, Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu, and local website iNews.
The group, which also included two crew members and a guide, set out by speedboat from an area west of the capital Jakarta on the afternoon of Sept 7, but lost contact somewhere in the Sunda Strait soon after.
The journalists were Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas (28), Firdaus Wajidi (42), Donal Husni (50), Arie Basuki (52) and Yudistiro Pranoto, accompanied by skipper Warta (55) and crew Surakman (60), as well as guide Heriyanto (49).
Firdaus worked mainly for Anadolu and freelanced at AFP.
The search and rescue agency said on Wednesday that a total of 22 naval assets were deployed to sweep the search area, which covered more than 3,400 square nautical miles.
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in the South-East Asian archipelago, due in part to lax safety standards and inclement weather.
At least six people were killed and 129 are still missing after a passenger ship carrying 243 people capsized early Sunday morning en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin, in South Kalimantan.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity. - AFP
