At least five people are dead and 28 remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off the coast of Indonesia, according to the latest update from authorities.
The updated number is lower than the 41 people initially reported missing Sunday. Officials now say 238 people have been rescued from the KM Mutiara Sentosa 2, which was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when flames erupted near Madura Island. Reuters reported the revised figures Monday morning.
The ferry was traveling from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the fire broke out Sunday morning.
Terrifying videos showed thick black smoke pouring from the vessel as passengers wearing life jackets crowded onto its upper decks. Some people reportedly jumped into the water to escape the rapidly spreading flames.
Survivors were forced to wait in the sea until nearby vessels and rescue crews could reach them. One passenger claimed the fire began in a truck on the ferry’s vehicle deck before strong winds helped push the flames through the vessel.
Officials have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire.
A massive search is now underway for the missing passengers. East Java police, Indonesia’s national rescue agency and the Navy have deployed seven boats and a helicopter.
The rescue fleet includes speedboats, a naval corvette and a large patrol vessel capable of carrying approximately 100 people.
Crews are searching an area stretching about 10 miles east and 10 miles west of the location where the ferry caught fire.
The operation is expected to continue for seven days but could be extended for another 14 days if necessary.
All rescued passengers were taken to the Port of Gapura Surya Nusantara in Surabaya by Monday morning. Anxious relatives gathered at the port, desperately waiting for information about loved ones who remained unaccounted for.
One woman named Ria said she had been trying to reach her missing uncle since learning about the disaster.
“I tried to contact continuously after I got the information but his cellphone was not active,” she told Reuters.
“And until now I have not been able to contact and know his condition.”
Questions have also emerged about the accuracy of the ferry’s passenger records. Officials reportedly believe more people may have been aboard than were listed on the original manifest, leaving uncertainty over the exact number still missing. The Associated Press reported that authorities were using information from survivors and relatives to establish the true passenger count.
The Mutiara Sentosa 2 was also carrying approximately 180 vehicles, most of them trucks. The ferry was built in Japan in 1992 and sold to Indonesia in 2015.
Ferries provide essential transportation across Indonesia, a vast nation made up of roughly 17,000 islands. However, deadly maritime accidents remain a recurring problem, with critics frequently pointing to overcrowding and inconsistent enforcement of safety regulations.
As investigators work to determine how the blaze began, rescuers are continuing their desperate search for survivors.
