At least five people have died and 41 others are still unaccounted for after a large fire tore through a ferry off the coast of an Indonesian island on Sunday.
The Mutiara Sentosa 2, which was carrying 271 people, was sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the blaze erupted sometime between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency said.
The ferry’s operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, alerted local search and rescue authorities roughly an hour later, reporting the fire near the northern tip of Madura island.
Video from the scene showed towering columns of dense black smoke billowing from the vessel as frightened passengers, many wearing life jackets, crowded onto the upper decks while waiting for help to arrive.
As bright orange flames spread across the 525-foot ship, some people jumped into the sea in a desperate attempt to escape the fire.
A tugboat and another vessel traveling nearby reached the area and began evacuating passengers shortly before 10 a.m.
By Sunday afternoon, ships in the vicinity had rescued 225 passengers and crew members and recovered five bodies. Authorities have not yet said whether those killed were passengers or members of the crew.
With 41 people still missing, search and rescue teams sent a vessel from Surabaya, while the Indonesian Navy deployed a warship to support the ongoing mission to locate those feared lost at sea.
The ferry is typically used by domestic travelers and for cargo transport between the islands of Java and Sulawesi.
Lax safety enforcement in Indonesia — an archipelago of 17 islands — is often blamed for frequent disasters.
At least five people were killed just weeks ago after a KM Barcelona V-A ferry caught fire while hauling 575 passengers from Melonguane to Manado.
The cause of Sunday’s fire is not immediately clear.
With Post Wires
