Indonesia calls off search for journalists missing while covering volcano eruption

JAKARTA, Sept 18 — Indonesian rescuers called off a ​search on its 10th day for eight people missing at sea, including five ‌journalists who were covering the eruption of Mount ⁠Anak Krakatau earlier this ​month.

• Ash from Mount ⁠Anak Krakatau, situated halfway between Java ‌and Sumatra ‌islands, blanketed the capital Jakarta and some ⁠surrounding areas after ⁠its initial eruption late on September 4.

• Photojournalists from local and foreign media organisations, including Turkey's Anadolu Agency, departed from Banten province on September 7 aboard ‌a speedboat before losing ​contact, triggering a search-and-rescue operation.

• Banten governor, Andra Soni, late on Thursday said the search was called off because rescuers have not found the missing people, adding it could be restarted if ​there were new leads.

• The eruption ‌led to the ‌closure ⁠of eight airports for safety reasons, affecting more than 340,000 travellers.

• Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" ‌and has 500 ​volcanoes, 127 of which ‌are active, according ⁠to its ​volcanology agency.

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Martin ​Petty)

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