Jakarta, August 2: A fire erupted on the ‘Mutiara Santosa-2’ ship in the Java Sea, north of Madura Island in East Java, Indonesia. According to the National Search and Rescue Agency, five people have died, and 42 others are reported injured. Fortunately, 225 passengers were rescued safely.
The ship was en route from Surabaya to Makassar, carrying a total of 271 individuals, including 232 passengers and 39 crew members. The Surabaya Search and Rescue Office confirmed that the vessel departed from Surabaya on Sunday morning, heading towards Sulawesi Island’s Makassar.
Officials reported that the fire broke out approximately 19 nautical miles (35.2 kilometers) from the coast, engulfing nearly the entire ship. Passengers gathered on the bridge and the front of the vessel while awaiting rescue.
Several nearby ships participated in the rescue operation, as reported by the Xinhua news agency. A joint search and rescue team dispatched additional vessels and personnel to locate the missing individuals and assist those still on board.
The search operation is ongoing, and authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
In June, Indonesia’s search and rescue agencies halted the search for 14 missing individuals after the KM Nurul Salsa passenger boat sank near the coast of South Sulawesi province. The boat had a total of 76 people on board, with 58 rescued, four bodies recovered, and 14 still unaccounted for.
The agency stated that the search operation, which lasted ten days, yielded no new leads despite thorough investigations of all designated search areas. The operation was temporarily suspended, but it will resume if any new information or sightings of the missing persons arise.
The KM Nurul Salsa sank on July 15 after experiencing engine failure while traveling from Jampea Island to Benteng.
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