At least five people lost their after a ferry carrying 271 people caught fire while it was at sea off the Madura Island of Indonesia on Sunday, said officials.ย
A massive search operation was launched, with officials rescuing around 225 people. The search continues as 41 others remain missing, though.
“Based on preliminary reports from the field, passengers are waiting to be evacuated by the vessels in the vicinity of the incident site,” Muhammad Masyhud, a senior official at the Ministry of Transportation, said in a statement. “The safety of passengers and crew is our top priority. We are continuously coordinating with all relevant parties to ensure that the evacuation process can proceed quickly, safely, and effectively.”
The vessel was sailing from Surabaya in East Java, which is Indonesia’s second-largest city, to Makassar in South Sulawesi when it caught fire. Several videos and photos have also gone viral on social media that showed smoke rising from the vessel after it caught fire.ย
The videos also showed some people jumping off the vessel, identified asย Mutiara Sentosa 2, to save their lives from the blaze. However, India TV Digital cannot independently verify the veracity of the videos.
It is not clear how the vessel caught fire, and authorities are yet to issue an official statement regarding this.
For the rescue operation, officials have deployed several vessels, including Surabaya Search and Rescue Office’s KN Search and Rescue (SAR) 249 Permadi, a Sumenep SAR post vessel, a Surabaya Harbormaster vessel, a Surabaya Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) vessel, an SROP Kalianget vessel, a KSOP Kalianget vessel, Meratur Project 3, and TB Hasnur 26.
Senior officials also arrived at the spot to monitor the rescue operation.
“Nine vessels have been dispatched to carry out the evacuation,” Sumenep Police public relations chief Widiarti was quoted as saying by Indonesia’s Antara news agency. “We have also deployed police personnel from nearby precincts to assist with the rescue team.”
Last month, a similar incident happened after a ferry transporting over 70 people sank near Selayar. The incident left four people dead, while 14 were missing following the conclusion of the search operation.
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