JAKARTA — At least five people have been confirmed dead and 41 remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off Indonesia's Madura Island on Sunday, triggering an emergency, multi-vessel search and rescue mission in the Java Sea.
The passenger vessel, identified as the KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2, was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when a fierce blaze erupted onboard on Sunday morning. The vessel was en route from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi.
According to officials from Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the ship’s captain issued a distress signal shortly after the fire broke out before communications with the vessel were lost. The ship was located approximately 19 nautical miles off Buruan Sapudi Island, near Sumenep Regency, when it was consumed by flames.
Dramatic video footage circulating on social media showed thick plumes of black smoke pouring into the sky as terrified passengers, clad in orange life jackets, crowded onto the vessel's bow and upper decks to escape the intense heat. Several desperate passengers leapt directly into the open ocean as the flames spread across the ship.
Surabaya Search and Rescue Office chief Nanang Sigit confirmed that nearby commercial vessels quickly diverted to assist in the life-saving operation.
"Tugboat TB Hasnur 26 and the vessel British Mentor are actively assisting in evacuating passengers who jumped from the KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2," Nanang stated, adding that four ships had managed to pull alongside the burning ferry to rescue survivors gathered at the bow. Specialized rescue vessel SAR 249 Permadi was also deployed to the scene.
By Sunday afternoon, rescue teams had successfully pulled 225 survivors from the water and aboard surrounding ships. Five bodies have been recovered, while search operations remain ongoing for the 41 individuals who are still unaccounted for.
"The safety of passengers and crew is our top priority," said Muhammad Masyhud, a senior official at the Ministry of Transportation. "We are continuously coordinating with all relevant parties to ensure that the evacuation process can proceed quickly, safely, and effectively."
Authorities noted that inaccurate passenger manifests—a persistent challenge in regional ferry operations—could complicate efforts to establish an exact final count of those on board. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and an investigation into the origin of the blaze is expected to begin as soon as emergency operations conclude.
Ferry disasters are relatively common across Indonesia, an expansive archipelagic nation of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on maritime transport. Lax safety regulations, overcrowding, and unpredictable weather frequently contribute to transport accidents in the region.
