At least five people were killed and 41 others remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island on Sunday, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation, authorities said.
Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement that the ferry was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when the fire broke out during its voyage.
Rescue teams have so far evacuated 225 people safely, while search operations remain underway to locate those still missing.
The ferry had departed from Surabaya in East Java Province and was en route to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, when the blaze erupted near Madura Island on Sunday morning.
Authorities said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and an investigation has been launched.
Madura Island lies off the northeastern coast of Java and is served by regular ferry services connecting several parts of Indonesia.
Maritime authorities continue to search the surrounding waters as hopes remain of finding additional survivors.
Source: Reuters