Indonesia: Three Dead, 150 Rescued After Passenger Ship Catches Fire

Jakarta: At least three people lost their lives and around 150 others were rescued after a passenger ship caught fire off the coast of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia on Sunday, officials confirmed.

Veri Ariyanto, a senior official at the North Sulawesi Search and Rescue Office, told Xinhua, “Three people were killed, and nearly 150 others were safely rescued. The rescue was carried out by joint teams and local fishermen.”

Rescue efforts are ongoing, with two larger ships, several rigid inflatable boats, and other vessels currently deployed in the operation, Ariyanto added.

The vessel, identified as KM Barcelona 5, caught fire while sailing near Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi, around 1:00 PM local time, according to Dani Repi, head of the province's Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency. Approximately 280 people were on board at the time of the incident, he said.

This incident comes just weeks after a similar maritime tragedy near Bali Island on July 3, where at least three people died, four survived, and 58 were reported missing after a wooden passenger boat capsized in rough seas.

The ill-fated vessel, Tunu Pratama Jaya Penumpang Motor, was sailing between Bali and East Java provinces when it was struck by massive waves, causing it to overturn completely, said I Nyoman Sidakarya, head of Bali’s Search and Rescue Office.

“Three people were found dead, and four were rescued alive,” Nyoman told Xinhua over the phone.

The ship had departed from Banyuwangi Regency in East Java and was headed to Gilimanuk village in Bali’s Jembrana Regency. At the time of the capsizing, the vessel was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members.

Search operations are ongoing in both provinces, with 35 rescuers from Bali, a rescue vessel, and a rubber boat involved in the mission.

With inputs from IANS