Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading the island of Anak Krakatau to report on a volcanic eruption.

Axar.az reports, citing ABC News, that according to the Banten province's Search and Rescue Office chief, Al Amrad, a speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten province, for the volcanic island in the Sunda Strait.

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 work for Indonesia's state news agency Antara, Turkiye's Anadolu Agency, Indonesia's Merdeka and iNews, while the fifth is a freelance photographer.