At least five people have died and 41 others remain missing after an Indonesian ferry carrying at least 250 passengers caught fire while sailing from Surabaya to Makassar, triggering a major search and rescue operation off Madura Island, authorities have said.
The blaze broke out aboard the passenger ferry KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 as it travelled from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi, according to Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Basarnas said the Surabaya Search and Rescue Office received the first report of the emergency at 08:24 local time (02:24 GMT) after the ship's captain alerted authorities to the fire.
In a statement posted on its official TikTok account, the agency said: "Based on information from the shipping company, the fire occurred at around 06:00-07:00 (00:00-01:00 GMT)."
As the fire spread, the vessel was quickly overwhelmed by flames, leaving hundreds of passengers scrambling to escape.
Basarnas later confirmed that the ferry "was almost entirely engulfed in flames", with "passengers held on in the ship's bridge and bow while awaiting rescue."
Videos broadcast by Indonesian news outlet iNews captured the dramatic rescue effort. One clip showed large groups of passengers wearing life jackets crowded onto what appeared to be a lifeboat, while another showed thick black smoke and flames billowing from the upper decks of the ferry.
Other footage showed desperate passengers climbing down the side of the burning vessel before jumping into the sea as rescuers rushed to the scene. Lifebuoys were thrown into the water to those struggling in the waves before they were pulled aboard rescue vessels.
Emergency teams have been searching the surrounding waters for dozens of missing passengers, while survivors continue to be evacuated from the area.
Authorities have not yet released details on what may have sparked the fire, and investigations are expected to begin once the emergency response is complete.
The incident is one of the latest maritime disasters to strike Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries serve as a vital mode of transport connecting communities across the country. Rescue operations were continuing as officials worked to account for all passengers and determine the full scale of the tragedy.