Members of Indonesian pop band Seventeen were among those swept away by the devastating tsunami that struck the Sunda Strait of Indonesia, a moment captured in a terrifying video.

The video, which quickly went viral, shows the tsunami striking Saturday during the band’s open-air concert at a resort on Tanjung Lesung beach in west Java. A massive wave comes surging in from behind the stage in the midst of a song, buckling the structure and carrying the band members away as it crashes into the audience.

In an emotional Instagram video, the band's vocalist Riefian "Ifan" Fajarsyah said the band’s bassist, Muhammad "Bani" Awal Purbani, and its road manager, Oki Wijaya, were killed. Two other band members, a crew member and Fajarsyah’s wife, Dylan Sahara, were still missing.

"We lost our bassist Bani and our road manager Oki. Andi (drummer) and Herman (guitar) and Ujang (crew) have not been found,” Fajarsyah said in the video, in which he is wearing a shirt with the band’s name and an Indonesian flag. “Please pray so my wife Dylan, Andi and Herman and Ujang can be found soon.”

The band later confirmed the death of the bassist and road manager at the concert, which was a holiday event held by state electricity company PLN, the Jakarta Post reported.

Survivors had been evacuated to nearby clinics and a search and rescue team was deployed to the area, according to a press statement from the band,

Source: USA Today

BDST: 1617 HRS, DEC 24, 2018
SI