One Crew Member of Boat Carrying 5 Journalists Found on Enggano Island, Bengkulu

Banten, MINA — The body of a crew member from the vessel carrying five journalists covering Mount Anak Krakatau has been found on Enggano Island, Bengkulu. The Banten Regional Police confirmed that the recovered body was that of Surakman. This identity was verified through DNA analysis conducted by the National Police Medical and Health Center’s (Pusdokkes Polri) Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

Banten Regional Police Chief Inspector General Hengki stated on Wednesday that the body—logged under examination code PM/62/P.Enggano/01—was genetically identified as Surakman, the biological father of Yayan. The body had previously been discovered without identification on the coast of Enggano Island on Saturday.

The vessel, KM Arupadatu I, was carrying eight people: five journalists, the captain, a crew member, and a guide. The group departed on September 7, 2026, to cover activity at Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait waters and lost contact one day later.

The five journalists in the group were M. Bagus Khoerunnas (ANTARA), Ari Basuki (Merdeka.com), Yudhistiro Pranoto (iNews), Firdaus Wajidi (Anadolu Agency), and Donal Husni (freelance journalist). To date, police have been unable to determine the status of the other seven victims based on the identification of this body.

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The body was initially found by local residents and subsequently transported to the Bengkulu Regional Police’s Bhayangkara Hospital for an autopsy and identification procedures. The DVI team matched antemortem data from the families of the eight victims with postmortem data from the body using fingerprint, dental, and DNA analysis.

The search operation for the group had previously been called off after 10 days. The discovery and identification of Surakman’s body mark the latest development in the effort to uncover the whereabouts of the seven other victims, who remain missing. []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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