An Indonesian ferry caught fire at sea on Sunday (2nd August), killing 5 people and leaving 41 others missing, search and rescue officials said.
The passenger ferry KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 was carrying 271 passengers and crew when the fire broke out on Sunday morning near Madura Island, off the northeastern coast of Java, while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi.
By Sunday afternoon, 225 people had been rescued, according to the regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency. Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, said some passengers escaped by jumping into the sea and were rescued by a nearby vessel.
Basarnas said four other ships remained on standby but could not move closer because of the risk posed by flammable material on board. The captain reported the fire to the ferry operator before losing contact, while a larger rescue team was travelling from Surabaya to the scene, a journey expected to take about six hours.
“Based on preliminary reports from the field, passengers are waiting to be evacuated by the vessels in the vicinity of the incident site,” said Muhammad Masyhud, a senior official at Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation.
“The safety of passengers and crew is our top priority. We are continuously coordinating with all relevant parties to ensure that the evacuation process can proceed quickly, safely, and effectively,” Masyhud said in a statement.
In a TikTok post, Basarnas said the Surabaya Search and Rescue office was alerted to the fire at 08:24 local time (02:24 GMT). Based on information from the ferry operator, the blaze is believed to have started between 06:00 and 07:00 local time (00:00 to 01:00 GMT).
Basarnas later said the ferry “was almost entirely engulfed in flames” and that “passengers held on in the ship’s bridge and bow while awaiting rescue”. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Footage broadcast by Indonesian news outlet iNews showed large numbers of people wearing life jackets aboard what appeared to be a lifeboat. Other videos showed passengers climbing down from the burning ferry as flames and thick smoke billowed from the vessel.
Marine accidents are relatively common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, due in part to lax safety standards and unpredictable weather. Last month, a ferry carrying more than 70 people sank near Selayar, a small tropical island south of Sulawesi, killing at least four people. Another 14 remained missing when the search was called off.
Indonesia’s vast island geography makes sea travel essential for connecting remote communities, but such incidents continue to highlight longstanding concerns over ferry safety and emergency response despite repeated calls for stricter standards.
Search operations continued through Sunday afternoon in the Java Sea. Flammable materials on board forced nearby rescue vessels to keep their distance while survivors awaited evacuation. Meanwhile, families gathered at ports in Surabaya and Makassar seeking updates as authorities worked to verify passenger details amid reports of inconsistent manifests.
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