Ferry Fire Off Indonesia's Madura Island Kills Five, 41 Missing

At least five people have been killed and 41 are missing after a ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island, the country’s search and rescue agency ⁠said.

The vessel, the Mutiara Sentosa 2, caught fire between 6am and 7am local time on Sunday (23:00 and 00:00 GMT), while travelling from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi. Madura Island lies off the northeastern coast of Java.

Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said 271 people were on board when the fire broke out – 232 passengers and 39 crew members.

According to Basarnas, the ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, alerted rescuers about an hour after the fire broke out, after receiving a report from the captain that the vessel was ablaze near the northern tip of Madura Island. Contact with the ferry was later lost.

Authorities later determined the ferry’s location, about 19 nautical miles (35km) north of Buruan Sapudi Island, after establishing communication with a nearby cargo vessel. The ship, however, was unable to approach the burning ferry because it was carrying flammable cargo.

Footage released by Basarnas of the incident showed thick black smoke billowing from the ferry as passengers wearing life jackets gathered on deck awaiting rescue.

Videos circulating on social media also appeared to show frightened passengers clustered on the upper decks, with some jumping into the sea as flames spread across the vessel.

The ferry was later reported to be almost engulfed in flames as a tugboat and another passing vessel moved in to begin evacuating passengers.

By Sunday afternoon, several nearby vessels managed to rescue 225 passengers and crew and recovered five bodies. At least 41 people remained unaccounted for.

A search-and-rescue operation was continuing, with authorities working to locate those still unaccounted for.

Basarnas said a rescue vessel was dispatched from Surabaya, although it was expected to take about six hours to reach the scene. A rigid inflatable boat sent from a nearby rescue post later returned to shore because of rough seas and high waves, while the Indonesian navy deployed a warship to assist in the operation.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, frequently experiences maritime accidents, in part because of lax enforcement of safety regulations and unpredictable weather.