By Five dead, 41 missing after Indonesian ferry catches fire, authorities say
Smoke billows from passenger ship Mutiara Santosa 2 after it caught fire in waters off Madura Island, Indonesia. (AP: Basarnas)
Five people have been found dead and 41 are missing after an Indonesian ferry with 271 people on board caught fire while at sea.
The captain called the ferry company to report the fire as the vessel sailed from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi on Sunday, according to Basarnas, the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency.
The captain has not been in contact since.
A total of 225 people on the vessel have been rescued, the regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency said.
Video released by Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency shows the passenger ferry on fire. (AFP: Basarnas)
Some passengers jumped into the sea and were picked up by a nearby ship.
Four other vessels were on stand-by near the ferry but could not approach because of the risk posed by flammable material on the ferry, Basarnas said.
A larger rescue operation is heading to the site from Surabaya, a six-hour journey from the site of the disaster.
Rescue officers prepare for the search and rescue operation. (Reuters: BASARNAS)
“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 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 said in a statement.
AFP/Reuters
Originally published on www.abc.net.au — View original