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🇸🇬 Singapore /Disasters & Emergencies

Survivors recall blasts before deadly Indonesian ferry fire

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Survivors reported hearing multiple explosions before a ferry caught fire, killing five passengers and leaving some still missing.
  • Officials provided conflicting numbers for those on board and rescued, with discrepancies in the missing count.
  • The fire originated in the stern of the vessel, forcing passengers to the bow to jump into the sea due to the intensity of the blaze.

Survivors recounted hearing several blasts moments before a passenger ferry erupted in flames, a disaster that claimed five lives and sent many overboard into the sea. Over 24 hours later, some individuals remained unaccounted for.

The vessel, carrying 236 people, departed Surabaya for Makassar on August 2. Search and rescue officials stated that 229 individuals were rescued and five bodies recovered, though figures have fluctuated significantly. Initial reports indicated 41 missing, while later accounts suggested around 28 were still unaccounted for, with the reason for the discrepancy unclear.

Initially, the smoke entered the information room, the sleeping quarters. And then explosions happened.

— Muhammad Abdul KarimA survivor describing the moments the fire broke out on the ferry.

The fire ignited in the stern as passengers ate breakfast. Smoke filled the information room and sleeping quarters before explosions occurred. Survivors described fleeing to the bow, where they received life jackets. One survivor, Muhammad Abdul Karim, recounted jumping into the sea with an elderly man as the fire spread, observing the flames engulfing nearly the entire ferry. He noted the rough waves and the distance to the rescue ship as major fears before his own rescue seven hours later.

The waves were big and the ship coming to save us was quite far. Those were our fears when we were about to jump.

— Muhammad Abdul KarimRecounting the perilous conditions faced by survivors after jumping into the sea.

Rescuers worked through the night, but estimates of the missing continued to change. Most evacuees returned to Surabaya. Another survivor, Bambang Susilo, described feeling the heat intensify and the floor warm up, prompting him and a fellow passenger to jump about 10 meters into the sea. "We had no choice but to surrender to our fate," he told reporters, having swum with five others to a rescue ship approximately 5km away.

Marine accidents are frequent in Indonesia, an archipelago nation, often attributed to lax safety standards and unpredictable weather. In July, a ferry carrying over 70 people sank near Sulawesi, resulting in at least four deaths and 14 missing.

We had no choice but to surrender to our fate.

— Bambang SusiloA survivor explaining the decision to jump into the sea from the burning ferry.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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