Local authorities have rescued 13 more people and are continuing the search for at least 28 missing individuals following a fire on a passenger ferry carrying around 270 people off the coast of East Java, Indonesia.

Local time on the 3rd, Arman Asmara Sharifuddin, head of the Marine and Air Police of the East Java Regional Police, told Reuters that 238 out of the 271 passengers and crew aboard the ferry Mutiara Sentosa 2 have been rescued.

Compared to the tally from the previous day, the number of rescued individuals increased by 13, and the number of missing decreased accordingly to 28.

The death toll remains at 5, unchanged from the previous day.

Police, rescue teams, and the navy have deployed 7 vessels, including patrol boats, and 1 helicopter to intensively search the waters surrounding the accident site.

Director Arman stated that the search will be conducted for at least 7 days and can be extended up to 14 days if necessary.

However, some officials told the AP that the exact number of missing people remains uncertain because the actual number of occupants may be higher than what was listed on the passenger manifest.

Consequently, authorities are conducting investigations involving survivors and the families of the missing to determine the precise number of missing persons.

In Indonesia, the number of vessel passengers often differs from the official passenger manifest.

Previously on the previous day, the ship, which was heading from Surabaya in East Java—Indonesia's second-largest city—to Makassar in South Sulawesi, was engulfed in flames at around 6 a.m. in the waters near Madura Island, East Java.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and is under investigation.

Regarding this, survivor Ahmad Abdul Karim told the AP, "Someone came up from the lower deck and told us a fire had broken out," adding that the fire is believed to have started from a truck located on the lower vehicle deck of the ship.

In Indonesia, an archipelago consisting of over 17,000 islands, ferries are a primary means of transportation and shipping, but maritime accidents frequently occur due to a large number of aging vessels and poor compliance with safety regulations.

In mid-July, the passenger ferry KM Nurulsalsa sank off the coast of South Sulawesi, where 58 people were rescued, but 4 died and 14 went missing.