A video showing tsunami waves hitting a band performing in the Sunda Strait in Indonesia has surfaced online. Two members of the band “Seventeen” playing near the beach were killed when the tsunami struck the area on Saturday and swept the members of the band away. At least 222 people in the region have died and 843 injured.
Around 200 employees of the state electricity utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara and their family members had gathered at the Tanjung Lesung beach when the tsunami struck. A video of the incident posted on YouTube shows the band playing while a huge wave hits the stage, collapsing it. The wave also hits the audience, several of whom shriek and attempt to flee.
Riefian Fajarsyah, the lead singer of the band, said on Instagram that the band’s manager and bass player were killed. “I just want to say that our bass player Bani and our manager Oki Wijaya passed away,” Fajarsyah said. He added that three other band members – Andi, Harman and Ujang – as well as his wife, were missing.
Perusahaan Listrik Negara said 29 of their employees and relatives had died, while 13 were missing, Reuters reported.
The tsunami struck coastal areas between the Sumatra and Java islands about 9.30 pm local time (8 pm Indian Standard Time) on Saturday. Indonesia’s disaster agency said that at least 28 people are missing following the tsunami. The agency’s spokesperson, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the country’s geological agency is working to determine the cause of the unexpected tsunami.
Early reports indicated that the tsunami may have been caused by an abnormal tidal surge due to the new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of the volcano Anak Krakatoa.
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