Five dead, 41 missing, after Indonesia ferry catches fire

What the report says

Five people were found dead and 41 others were reported missing after an Indonesian passenger ferry caught fire at sea off Madura island, according to BBC World News and Indonesia’s search and rescue authorities. The vessel, KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2, was carrying at least 250 people when the blaze broke out, officials said.

The National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, said the ship’s captain reported the fire while the ferry was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi. The agency said it first received information about the incident in the morning, and later reported that the vessel was almost entirely engulfed in flames as passengers waited for rescue on the bridge and bow.

Footage shared by local media and Basarnas showed thick smoke, people wearing life jackets, and passengers descending from the ferry or moving into the sea before being picked up by rescue crews. The images indicate a large-scale emergency response was under way, though the article did not give a final account of how many people had been rescued.

The incident highlights ongoing safety risks in Indonesia’s busy ferry network, where water transport is a common link between major islands. Details remained limited in the initial reports, and the number of missing people could change as search efforts continue.