Indonesia probes Java Sea ferry fire that killed five

3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government has launched an official investigation into a deadly ferry fire in the Java Sea that killed five people.

The blaze broke out early Sunday morning aboard the KM Mutiara Sentosa II in waters north of Madura Island, off the coast of East Java.

“The government will immediately launch an investigation because we need to know the exact cause of the incident,” said Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, expressing his condolences to the families of the victims.

Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) will lead the probe, which will examine the ship’s technical condition, crew readiness, passenger manifests, and weather conditions at the time of the incident, Yudhoyono added.

Search and rescue teams, supported by the Indonesian Coast Guard and nearby commercial vessels, evacuated 227 survivors from the vessel alongside the five recovered bodies by Sunday evening.

Transport authorities are continuing to verify passenger data and oversee medical treatment for survivors.

The disaster has reignited debates over maritime safety in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands where ferries are a primary form of transport but safety enforcement remains inconsistent.

Yudhoyono emphasized that the government plans to enforce stricter standard operating procedures, enhance seaworthiness inspections, and accelerate the modernization of the country’s aging passenger fleet to prevent future tragedies.

“We want to ensure that ships are always seaworthy and free of technical issues. We are fully committed to continuing the modernization of our fleet,” he said.