▲ A passenger ship on fire off the coast of Java, Indonesia
A massive fire broke out on a passenger ship carrying an estimated 270 people off the coast of East Java, Indonesia, on August 2 local time, leaving 5 people dead and over 40 missing.
According to Indonesian media outlets including Kompas TV, the fire broke out at around 6:00 a.m. on August 2 on the passenger ship Mutiara Sentosa 2 in the waters near Madura Island, East Java.
The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency stated that the fire resulted in 5 deaths and 41 missing persons, while the remaining 225 people were rescued.
Dozens of passengers who jumped into the sea after the fire started were rescued by several nearby vessels.
Initially, it was reported that about 250 passengers and crew members were on board, but it was later confirmed that a higher number of 271 people were actually on the ship.
At the time of the accident, the vessel was en route from Surabaya in East Java, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Makassar in South Sulawesi.
Earlier in the day, the shipping company received a report from the captain in the morning stating that a fire had broken out on the ship.
Footage released by Kompas TV showed terrified passengers wearing life jackets waiting to be rescued, alongside thick black smoke billowing into the sky and engulfing the entire passenger ship.
Indonesian authorities stated, "The ship is completely engulfed in flames," and added that rescue teams and vessels have been deployed to continue searching the waters near the accident site.
They also stated that an investigation into the cause of the fire will be conducted once rescue operations are completed.
In Indonesia, an archipelago consisting of 17,000 islands, ships are utilized as a major means of transportation alongside aircraft.
However, due to lax safety regulations, it is common for the actual number of passengers to differ from the passenger manifest, and maritime accidents caused by poor weather or fires frequently occur.
In 2018, a passenger ship carrying over 200 people sank in a volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, resulting in 167 deaths.
(Photo: Screengrab from Kompas TV, Yonhap News)
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