Indonesian Passenger Ferry Catches Fire; 5 Dead and 41 Missing

At least five people have died and 41 remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off the Indonesian coast on Sunday morning.

The Mutiara Sentosa 2 was carrying 271 passengers and crew from Surabaya, East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi. According to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the fire broke out between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. near Madura Island.

Videos circulated on social media showed thick black smoke and orange flames engulfing the vessel. Terrified passengers, wearing life jackets, clustered on the deck before many jumped into the sea to escape the rapidly spreading fire.

Passing cargo ships and a tugboat rushed to the scene, successfully rescuing 225 people by Sunday afternoon. Authorities also recovered five bodies from the water.

Rescue operations faced significant challenges. While a rescue vessel was dispatched from Surabaya, rough seas and high waves forced a smaller inflatable boat from Sumenep to turn back. In response and the Indonesian Navy deployed a warship to assist in the search for the 41 individuals still unaccounted for.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Ferry travel is a primary mode of transport across Indonesia's archipelago of more than 17,000 islands but the industry has historically been plagued by regular accidents and weak enforcement of safety regulations.