On Sunday, an Indonesian ferry carrying 271 passengers caught fire in the waters near the main island of Java in Indonesia. At least five people died, dozens are missing, and rescuers and passing vessels evacuated hundreds from the burning ship, officials said, reports UNN citing CNN.
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The ferry Mutiara Sentosa 2 was sailing from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya in East Java, to the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi. On board were 232 passengers and 39 crew members. According to Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the fire broke out between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. in the waters near Sumenep district.
The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour later, according to a Basarnas statement. The statement said the company received information from the ferry captain that the vessel was on fire near the northern tip of Madura Island, but contact was later lost.
By 9:45 a.m. (22:45 Eastern Time), authorities determined the ferry was approximately 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi Island, after contacting the nearby cargo ship Meratus Project 3, which could not approach the burning vessel.
The ferry was reported to be almost completely engulfed in flames, with passengers gathered on the bridge and bow. A tugboat and another vessel approached and began evacuating passengers shortly before 10 a.m., the statement said. By Sunday afternoon, several nearby vessels managed to rescue 225 passengers and crew members and recovered five bodies. At least 41 people remain missing.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown and under investigation.
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The ferry, 160 meters (525 feet) long and 25 meters (82 feet) wide, serves the Surabaya-Makassar route, a journey that typically takes about 40 hours and is used mainly for domestic passenger and cargo transport between Java and Sulawesi.
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are a common mode of transportation. Disasters occur regularly, often due to weak enforcement of safety regulations.