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All 460 passengers and crew members were evacuated after a passenger ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Java island on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reported, citing local media.
The “KMP Batumandi”, carrying 420 passengers and 40 crew members, caught fire near Merak Besar Island in Banten province, the Jakarta Globe reported, citing rescue officials.
Eighteen vessels and supporting units, including rescue boats, tugboats, patrol vessels and fishing boats, were deployed for the evacuation and firefighting operation.
Footage broadcast by several media outlets showed thick black smoke rising from the ferry as passengers scrambled to safety.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Merak is a major ferry port linking Java and Sumatra across the Sunda Strait, one of Indonesia’s busiest ferry routes.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, has a long history of maritime accidents. More than 80 people were killed when a ferry capsized in the Java Sea last month.
