A heartbroken singer weeps for four band mates deaths when giant wave smashed as devastation from Krakatoa volcano eruption

News24xx.com - Four members of a Seventeen, a famous boy band in Indonesia were killed when they were hit by a tsunami while playing onstage in Indonesia in a devastating natural disaster on Saturday evening.

A video which was being recorded in the seconds before the wave hit showed families enjoying a performance by Seventeen when suddenly the entire stage is smashed to pieces by the wave. 

The band's lead singer Riefian 'Ifan' Fajarsyah told his 300,000 followers in a tearful video he was looking for the rest of the band.

The group later released a statement saying their bass player, guitarist and road manager were found dead, while two other band members and the wife of one of the performers still missing.

'(We) lost Bani and our road manager Oki,' the singer said. 

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The dead were named as bassist M. Awal 'Bani' Purbani, road manager Oki Wijaya, guitarist Herman Sikumbang and crew member Ujang.

Until now, the band's drummer is still missing. 

Another crew member named Zack revealed how he clung to the stage for survival.

"Underwater I could only pray 'Jesus Christ, please help me, in the final seconds I almost ran out of breath," Zack said in an Instagram post.

Seventeen were performing for 200 employees of state electricity utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and family members had gathered at the Tanjung Lesung beach for an end-of-year party when the tsunami struck at about 9.30pm.

The wave hit beaches around the Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra at about 9.30pm local time, destroying  500 houses, nine hotels and 350 boats. 

The deadly tsunami was triggered by an underwater landslide after the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano. The death toll stands at 168 while more than 700 people are injured.

Survivors were treated at clinics but could not return to Jakarta because road access was blocked, Yulia Dian, a manager for the band in Jakarta, told Reuters by telephone.

'We were shocked because a lot of the people who went there took their families,' Dian said, noting the band had been due to return to Jakarta on Sunday.

Twenty-nine PLN workers and relatives were killed and 13 are missing.

 

 

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