TANJUNG LESUNG BEACH, Indonesia – Members of the Jakarta-based band Seventeen, crew members and attendees at a private concert are among those killed and injured in the aftermath of the Sunda Strait tsunami that destroyed the beachfront stage while the band was performing Dec. 22, 2018.
Dramatic video shows absolutely no sense of impending danger until the stage structure topples forward from the impact of the water surging in the dark. The tsunami, which struck at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 22, is thought to have been unleashed by underwater landslides triggered by an eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano.
The concert stage was set up facing away from the water on the beach. A state-run power utility, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), had organized the end-of-year party for its employees and guests.
Seventeen’s lead singer, Riefian “Ifan” Fajarsyah, survived, but other band members were killed, including bassist M. Awal “Bani” Purbani and guitarist Herman Sikumbang. Drummer Windu Andi Darmawan, initially reported as missing, was later found dead. Ifan’s wife, TV personality Dylan Sahara, was also reported missing and feared dead.
The band’s road manager, Oki Wijaya, and a crew member, Ujang, were also killed in the tragedy. In a news conference, PSN reported that 29 of its employees and relatives attending the event had died and 13 were missing.
The Sunda Strait tsunami radiated outward from the Anak Krakatau volcano, the volcano that emerged from the sea in 1930 near the site of the cataclysmic eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. The Dec. 22 event killed at least 373 in the region, with 128 missing, and injured close to 1,500, according to reports.
