Indonesian authorities said 212 people had been rescued after a fire broke out aboard the RoRo ferry KM Putri Yasmin in the Lombok Strait, while one person had died. Search and rescue activity was expected to restart at daylight on Thursday.
The 1,790-gross-ton vessel was sailing from Bali to Lombok on 12 August when the fire started at about 4:15 a.m. local time. Distress calls were reported by 4:39 a.m.
Passengers said they were first told to put on life jackets and remain aboard the ferry. Later reports said they were instructed to enter the water, while the vessel’s life rafts were also deployed.
Several Indonesian agencies took part in the rescue operation. At least six rescue vessels were reported to have reached the ferry, and rescued passengers were being transferred to Bali and Lombok.
Establishing the number of people involved was complicated by problems with the passenger manifest. Early figures listed 114 passengers and 17 crew.
Authorities later reported that 173 people had been evacuated and that one passenger had died. Another 39 people were subsequently counted aboard a separate rescue boat, taking the reported number rescued to 212.
One person was also reported to have been taken to hospital. Because the manifest was incomplete, authorities said they could not yet establish a final casualty count.
Built in Japan in 1992, KM Putri Yasmin is operated by Jemla Ferry and sails under the Indonesian flag. Jemla Ferry has operated since 1976, lists 16 vessels on its website and acquired KM Putri Yasmin in 2011.
Media reports said 44 people were listed as drivers or passengers and that a number of two-wheelers were aboard. Reports linking the start of the fire to an electric bicycle had not been confirmed.
The incident followed another Indonesian ferry fire less than a month earlier involving KM Matiara Sentosa 2. Authorities reported five deaths in that case, which remains under investigation. The earlier rescue operation also faced difficulties because the passenger manifest was inaccurate.
Authorities said their immediate priority was the SAR operation and determining whether all people involved had been recovered. The origin of the fire will be examined separately.
Indonesia’s transport minister said KM Putri Yasmin had received permission to sail based on the submitted manifest. He also said additional people may have boarded without being reported.
The minister said the National Transport Safety Committee would be responsible for examining how the fire began and cautioned against drawing conclusions before that investigation.
