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The National Search and Rescue Agency, known as Basarnas, said the ferry’s captain reported the fire while the vessel was at sea off Madura island in waters between East Java and Sulawesi. Agency teams moved quickly to coordinate an evacuation as passengers abandoned the burning ship, with local television footage showing people wearing life jackets crowded onto lifeboats and others climbing down ropes amid plumes of smoke rising from the upper decks. Operations continued through the day with assistance from additional maritime units, although rough conditions in the area have slowed efforts to account for everyone on board.
Basarnas placed the total number of people aboard the ferry at 271 and reported that five bodies had been recovered so far while 41 individuals were still missing. The figures imply that more than 220 people reached safety, although the agency cautioned that final tallies could shift as search teams cross-check names against the vessel manifest and interview survivors. Reuters, citing the same agency statement issued on August 2, confirmed the casualty count and noted that the search remained active with no immediate indication of what caused the blaze.
The ferry had left Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, bound for Makassar in South Sulawesi on a route that carries significant inter-island passenger and cargo traffic. According to Basarnas, the agency directed nearby vessels to report any sightings of debris or additional survivors while ground teams prepared reception points for those rescued. No details have yet emerged about the ferry’s age, maintenance history or exact passenger breakdown between civilians and crew.
This incident forms part of a recurring pattern of maritime accidents across Indonesia’s sprawling archipelago, where ferry services link thousands of islands but often operate under challenging safety conditions. A similar blaze aboard a passenger ferry off North Sulawesi in July 2025 initially listed five deaths before authorities revised the toll to three, ultimately rescuing 575 people after discovering the vessel carried far more passengers than first reported, according to an Associated Press dispatch. Such discrepancies frequently surface in the aftermath of Indonesian sea emergencies as manifests prove incomplete.
Earlier events underscore the persistent risks, including a 2017 ferry fire near Jakarta that left 23 people dead and 17 missing, The Guardian reported at the time. Basarnas has handled dozens of maritime distress calls each year, reflecting both the high volume of sea travel and ongoing issues with vessel maintenance, overcrowding and regulatory enforcement across the national fleet. Indonesian officials have periodically tightened maritime rules in response to these tragedies, yet accidents continue to claim lives in one of the world’s most ferry-dependent nations.
Rescue operations extended into Sunday night as the navy contributed vessels to expand the search radius, multiple regional outlets indicated. Basarnas urged the public to provide any relevant information while families of those unaccounted for assembled at departure and arrival ports awaiting updates. The agency has promised a full investigation once the immediate search concludes and all survivors have been debriefed.
