The KM Santika Nusantara was travelling between the country’s second-largest city of Surabaya and the town of Balikpapan on Borneo island with 277 people on board, when it caught fire on Thursday evening, a government official said. At least four people died and nearly three dozen were missing after a ferry went up in flames off Indonesia’s Java island, on Friday (Aug 23).
Television images on Friday showed plumes of black smoke pouring out of the boat, as search teams hunted for the missing passengers after scores were rescued.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. it appeared that a fire broke out and the ferry’s power went down, cutting off water pumps.
The crew couldn’t extinguish the fire because the water pumps weren’t working so passengers started to abandon the ship.
Rescue efforts were complicated by the boat’s manifest listing only 111 passengers, officials said.
Subscribe to International Fire Fighter today for FREE!