5 dead after ferry catches fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island:271 on board, 41 missing; passengers jump into sea to save their lives

At least five people have died and 41 remain missing after a ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island, the country’s search and rescue agency said in a statement on Sunday. Search and rescue operations are continuing to locate those unaccounted for. According to the agency, a total of 271 passengers and crew members were aboard the ferry. As of Sunday afternoon, 225 of them had been rescued safely. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined. The ferry was traveling from Surabaya in the East Java province to Makassar in the South Sulawesi province when it caught fire near Madura Island. The cause of the fire is not yet known. A rescue operation is currently underway to find the missing people. 5 visuals of the accident… Chaos on the ferry as soon as the fire broke out Visuals from the accident have surfaced on social media, showing passengers running towards the front of the burning ferry. Videos of the incident showed several people panicking as the fire spread. According to Reuters, rescue teams were searching the surrounding sea for the missing. According to the search and rescue agency, several rescue boats and other resources were dispatched to the scene following the accident. Rescue teams are conducting a search operation at sea to locate the missing. Officials said the operation was still ongoing, and the number of dead or missing could change. Similar major accidents Indonesia has previously witnessed several major ferry boat fires. In July 2025, a passenger ferry named KM Barcelona 5 caught fire near North Sulawesi province. Three people died in the accident, while approximately 150 were rescued. The ferry was carrying approximately 280 people. In May 2021, the ferry KM Karya Indah caught fire shortly after departing Ternate. Passengers and crew were forced to jump into the sea to save their lives. With the help of local fishermen and rescue agencies, 181 passengers, including 22 children, and 14 crew members were rescued safely. There were no fatalities in the accident. Why do ferry accidents happen frequently in Indonesia?