Deadly Ferry Fire Off Indonesia Leaves Dozens Missing
A fire broke out on the Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry off Indonesia's Madura Island, killing at least five and leaving 41 missing, highlighting recurring safety issues.
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A fire that broke out on an Indonesian ferry early Sunday has left at least five people dead and dozens more missing, in the latest deadly incident to highlight the archipelago's recurring maritime safety problems.
The blaze started on the Mutiara Sentosa 2 between 06:00 and 07:00 local time on 2 August 2026, while the vessel was sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi. The ferry, operated by PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, was carrying 271 people in total — 232 passengers and 39 crew — along with 181 vehicles, mostly trucks, and an excavator.
The fire was reported to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour after it began, at approximately 08:24 local time, after the captain's report. Contact with the ferry was then lost, according to the rescue agency Basarnas. By Sunday afternoon, 255 people had been rescued, but that figure was revised to 227 by Sunday evening, with a third source reporting 225. Officials confirmed 41 people are still missing, while the death toll stands at five.
The vessel was located in waters off Madura Island, near Sumenep regency, about 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi Island. A nearby cargo vessel, the Meratus Project 3, could not approach the burning ferry because of its own flammable cargo, and an inflatable boat from the Sumenep rescue post turned back due to rough seas. A rescue ship from Surabaya took around six hours to reach the site, and the Indonesian Navy deployed a warship to assist in the operation.
Survivor Ahmad Abdul Karim said the fire appeared to start from a truck on the lower vehicle deck, with two vehicles already burning when he checked. He described how the flames spread extremely quickly, and everyone was instructed to move to the bow in less than 30 minutes.
The Mutiara Sentosa 2, which measures 160 meters long and 25 meters wide, was built in Japan in 1992 and operated as the Ferry Osaka on the Osaka-Shinmoji route before being sold to Indonesia in 2015. The typical voyage between Surabaya and Makassar takes around 40 hours.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, and an investigation is underway. The incident echoes previous deadly ferry fires in Indonesia, including the KM Barcelona 5, which caught fire off Manado, North Sulawesi, on 19 July 2025, with around 280 people on board, killing at least three and leaving about 150 rescued. In May 2021, the KM Karya Indah burned in the Molucca Sea, but all 181 passengers and 14 crew were rescued without casualties.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries, and accidents are common, often blamed on lax regulation.