ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Watch: Indonesia Tsunami Wipes off Pop Band Members During Show

Online footage showed a large wave crashing into a tent in the resort, in which the rock band was performing.

Published
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large

In a video posted online, an Indonesian pop band performing near the beach was swept away when a tsunami hit the Sunda Strait on Saturday, 22 December.

Footage shared on social media showed a large wave crashing into a tent in the resort, in which the rock band, “Seventeen”, was performing.

The band were playing Saturday night to a large crowd in a marquee at the Tanjung Lesung Beach Resort in a show organised by PLN, the state-run electric company, CNN reported.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

In a heart-wrenching video, Riefian Fajarsyah, lead vocalist of the band "Seventeen" said 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," he said while sobbing.

Holding onto his tears, he said said two more band members, a crew member and his wife were still missing.

"Please pray that we can find Andi, Herman and Ujang and my wife," CNN quoted him as saying in the video.

“Underwater I could only pray ‘Jesus Christ help!’” Zack, a crew member, said on Instagram that he survived by grabbing onto part of the stage, and "in the final seconds [underwater] I almost ran out of breath", Reuters reported.

Search and rescue teams were scouring rubble for survivors, with 222 confirmed dead, 843 people injured and 28 reported missing across three regions.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of public relations at Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 843 people were injured and 28 were missing, as of 4pm local time. "This number will continue to rise, considering not all places have been checked," Dr Sutopo told a media briefing in Yogyakarta.

Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
Monthly
6-Monthly
Annual
Check Member Benefits
×
×