At least five dead and dozens missing after Indonesian ferry catches fire

At least five people have died and 41 are missing after a ferry caught fire off the coast of an Indonesian island, officials have said.

The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry, which was carrying 271 passengers and crew members, caught fire off Indonesia's Madura island, the country's rescue agency said.

The search operation is still ongoing for those missing - with 225 people understood to have been found.

It was heading from Surabaya, in East Java province, to Makassar city, in South Sulawesi, when the blaze started.

It's unclear how the ferry caught fire, but Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, Basarnas, said the flames broke out between 6am and 7am local time.

The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour later, Basarnas confirmed.

It said the company received information from the ferry's captain that the vessel was on fire near the northern tip of Madura island, but contact was later lost.

By 9.45am, authorities determined the ferry was about 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi island after communicating with the nearby cargo vessel Meratus Project 3, which was unable to approach the burning vessel because it was carrying a flammable load.

A tugboat and another passing vessel moved in and began evacuating passengers from the stricken ferry shortly before 10am.

By Sunday afternoon, several nearby vessels managed to rescue 225 passengers and crew and recovered five bodies.

Footage on social media appeared to show people wearing life jackets as thick smoke poured from the vessel.

Search and rescue teams dispatched a rescue vessel from Surabaya, although officials estimated it would take about six hours to reach the scene.

A rigid inflatable boat from the Sumenep rescue post was sent towards the location but had to return because of rough seas and high waves.

An Indonesian naval warship has also been deployed to help with the search and rescue.

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The 160m (525f) long and 25m (82ft) wide ferry serves the Surabaya-Makassar route, a voyage that typically takes around 40 hours and is primarily used by domestic travellers and cargo transport.

Maritime accidents are not uncommon in Indonesia, which relies heavily on boats and is made up of over 17,500 islands.

Last month, rescue operations had to be launched after a different ship, the KM Nurul Salsa, suffered an engine failure and sank.

Rescuers then found five survivors, including a 7-year-old girl, days after the ship had sunk.

(c) Sky News 2026: At least five dead and dozens missing after Indonesian ferry catches fire