Ferry fire in Indonesia leaves five dead, 41 missing

At least five people have died and another 41 are missing after a ferry caught fire in Indonesia on Sunday morning, authorities have confirmed.

The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferrywas carrying a total of 271 passengers and crew members from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya in East Java, across the Java Sea to Makassar in South Sulawesi.

Search and rescue officials said 225 people had been rescued by Sunday afternoon but that an operation was still ongoing.

Some passengers reportedly jumped overboard and were picked up by a nearby ship. Four other vessels were on standby nearby but could not approach because of the risk posed by flammable material on the ferry, officials said.

What have Indonesian authorities said?

"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 the Indonesian 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," he added.

The fire, the cause of which remains unclear, was reported by the ship's captain who, according to officials, has not been in contact since.

Are shipping accidents common in Indonesia?

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where marine accidents are a regular occurrence, due to a combination of unpredictable weather conditions and lax safety standards.

Last month, a ferry transporting more than 70 people sank while sailing near Selayar, a small tropical island south of the much larger Sulawesi.

At least four people were found dead, and 14 others remained missing until the end of the search operation.