Five people died and 41 others are missing as a result of a fire which broke out this Sunday aboard a ferry carrying 271 passengers off the coast of Indonesia.
The boat was traveling between the town of Surabaya, in the province of East Java, and Makassar, located on the island of Sulawesi, when the fire broke out. The national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) reported that the captain issued warning messages before becoming unreachable.
So far, 225 people have been rescued, five found dead and 41 missing. On social networks, videos show dozens of passengers wearing their life jackets, crowded together on the deck, while thick black smoke escapes from the bowels of the boat.
Slowness of help
“According to the first information reaching us, the passengers are waiting to be evacuated on boats in the surrounding area”said Muhammad Masyhud, senior official at the Ministry of Transport, in a statement. And to add: “The safety of passengers and crew is our top priority. We coordinate with the various parties to ensure that the evacuation procedure takes place quickly, safely and efficiently. »
The Basarnas agency also indicated that many passengers had jumped into the water to escape the fire. Four other boats were sailing in the vicinity of the burning ship but were unable to approach it, as the latter was carrying flammable materials. A rescue team, located six hours away from the scene of the incident, is on its way.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, is regularly prey to maritime accidents, particularly due to bad weather conditions. On July 15, a ferry sank off the coast of Selayar Island with 76 people on board, killing at least four people and leading to the disappearance of fourteen people.
