At least 5 dead, 41 missing after ferry catches fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island

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. 

The death count, however, is feared to rise as 41 people are still missing and a massive search has been launched to rescue them. 

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. 

The videos also showed some people jumping off the vessel, identified as 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.

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 have arrived at the spot and monitoring 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.”