Surabaya (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said 232 people were evacuated from the passenger ferry Mutiara Sentosa 2 after it caught fire off the northern coast of Sumenep, East Java, leaving five people dead.
Head of the Surabaya SAR Office Nanang Sigit said the operation involved several vessels, adding that the evacuation tally was last updated at 6 p.m. local time.
He highlighted that the vessel Meratus Pematang Siantar rescued the largest number of survivors, evacuating 111 people, including two deceased victims, and added that it would rendezvous with a Basarnas vessel in Surabaya.
Other vessels involved included TB Hasnur 26, which evacuated 65 survivors and one deceased victim; Transco Arafura with 17 survivors; Meratus Project 13 with 13 survivors and one deceased victim; and Prakarsa Mas with seven survivors.
Meanwhile, SC Aila XVII rescued seven survivors; Selaras Mas with seven survivors; British Mentor with two survivors; and Alcon Daniel with one deceased victim.
The Surabaya SAR Office first received a report of the fire aboard Mutiara Sentosa 2 from the Tanjung Perak harbormaster at 8:24 a.m. local time.
PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, the vessel’s operator, confirmed that the fire broke out while the ferry was sailing from Surabaya to Makassar carrying about 250 passengers and crew.
Based on the captain’s account, the incident occurred between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. in waters north of Madura Island. The operator later lost contact with the captain after receiving the report.
The vessel Meratus Project 3 informed the SAR office at 9:45 a.m. that Mutiara Sentosa 2 was almost entirely engulfed in flames about 19 nautical miles north of Sapudi Island, with passengers and crew awaiting rescue on the bridge and at the bow.
By 10:20 a.m., several people reportedly jumped overboard and were rescued by the nearby vessels TB Hasnur 26 and British Mentor.
Related news: Nine vessels sent to rescue 250 people after ferry fire off East Java
Translator: Indra/Naufal, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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