Rescue crews were racing to find survivors after a ferry accident in Indonesia over the weekend left at least five people dead.
The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was sailing from Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi when a fire broke out at around 7am on Sunday.
The vessel was off Madura island when the tragedy occurred.
Initial reports suggested, based on the vessel’s manifest, that the ferry was carrying 232 passengers and 39 crew members. However, Indonesian officials said on Monday there were many more people onboard than listed and that the number of people missing remained unclear. So far, they added, 229 people had been rescued and five bodies recovered.
Footage on social media showed thick smoke coming from the ferry as people in lifejackets escaped the boat.
The vessel was also loaded with 180 vehicles, mostly trucks, and an excavator.
Ahmad Abdul Karim, one of the survivors, said the fire likely started from a truck on the lower vehicle deck. "Fanned by the wind, the flames spread extremely quickly," he said. "In less than 30 minutes, everyone had been instructed to move to the bow of the ferry."
The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour later. The company said it received information from the captain that the vessel was on fire near the northern tip of Madura island, but contact was later lost.
“Passengers held on in the ship’s bridge and bow while awaiting rescue,” it said in a statement. “A number of passengers who jumped into the sea were rescued by TB Hasnur 26 together with the tanker British Mentor. At least four vessels were in the area to assist with the rescue.”
Search and rescue teams dispatched a rescue boat from Surabaya to the scene, about 35km north of Buruan Sapudi island in the Sumenep regency. Indonesian naval ships also assisted, along with a number of passing vessels.
The vessel was built in Japan in 1992 and operated in the East Asian nation before arriving in Indonesia in 2015. It can accommodate 689 passengers and 49 crew, along with 180 vehicles.
The Mutiara Sentosa 2 serves the Surabaya-Makassar route, a voyage that typically takes about 40 hours and is primarily used by domestic travellers and cargo transporters between the islands of Java and Sulawesi.
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common mode of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.
