Local authorities have launched a search for hundreds of people who were rescued from a passenger ferry that caught fire in the Moluccan Sea in Indonesia.
The passenger ferry KM Karya Indah was traveling through a remote area of the Indonesian archipelago from Ternate in North Maluku province to Sanana on the island of Sulabes when the fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Dramatic footage from Indonesia’s search and rescue agency showed the vessel engulfed in smoke and part of the ship in flames as passengers wearing life jackets jumped from the deck into lifeboats.
Search and rescue officials said 274 people had been rescued from the ship without injury and taken to a nearby town, while one person was still missing.
“The search continues. Today’s search and rescue plan (will be carried out) by a joint search and rescue team,” Ternate search and rescue team chief Muhamad Arafah said in a statement.
Early reports suggest the fire may have started in the engine room. Indonesian authorities said they are continuing to investigate the cause of the incident.
