Disasters & Incidents
Indonesia ferry fire final count confirms five dead
An Indonesia passenger ferry fire killed five people, and all survivors have been accounted for, National Search and Rescue Agency head Mohammad Syafii said Tuesday.
Mohammad said the total number of passengers and crew recovered, dead or alive, matched the manifest of the ferry that left Surabaya on Sunday for Makassar on Sulawesi island. The last rescue vessel returned carrying 62 people.
The ferry was about six hours into its journey from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, when it ran into trouble off Java island.
Survivors said Monday they heard multiple blasts shortly before a fire broke out, prompting people on board to jump into the sea. Mohammad said all 238 people who jumped into the sea wore life jackets and were evacuated, counting both survivors and fatalities.
Official figures for the number of people on board and missing had changed during the search. Mohammad said authorities had opened a hotline for people to report any missing passengers who may not have been listed on the manifest.
On Monday, Mohammad said rescuers could no longer see the ferry at the location where it had caught fire.
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat links, partly because of lax safety standards and unpredictable weather. A ferry carrying more than 70 people sank near Selayar, south of Sulawesi, last month; four bodies were recovered, and the search ended with 14 others still officially missing.
Update
National Search and Rescue Agency head Mohammad Syafii said all survivors had been accounted for.
Officials confirmed five deaths in the ferry fire.
Mohammad Syafii said the number of passengers and crew recovered, dead or alive, matched the ferry manifest.
The last rescue vessel returned carrying 62 people.
Mohammad Syafii said authorities had set up a hotline for reports of missing passengers who may not have been listed on the manifest.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 10:01:06 UTC.
Update
National Search and Rescue Agency head Mohammad Syafii said late Monday that officials hoped all people on board had been found.
Syafii said a rescue ship was deployed Monday for a final search and should return to shore Tuesday morning.
Authorities are expected to hold a news conference after the rescue ship returns.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 13:10:09 UTC.
Update
Search and rescue agency head Nanang Sigit said 229 people had been rescued alive and five bodies had been recovered.
Nanang Sigit said 236 people were on board when the ferry left Surabaya for Makassar.
Nanang Sigit said two people were mathematically still not evacuated, but that the data was being checked with the shipowner.
East Java police official Arman Asmara Syarifuddin said about 28 people were still missing.
Survivors said they heard multiple blasts before or as the ferry caught fire.
Another rescue vessel was deployed on Monday to help find the missing.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 07:00:45 UTC.
Update
The regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency said 225 people on the vessel had been rescued.
Basarnas said some passengers jumped into the sea and were picked up by a nearby ship.
Basarnas said four nearby vessels could not approach because of flammable material on the ferry.
The ferry was sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the captain reported the fire.
Basarnas said the captain had not been in contact since reporting the fire.
A larger rescue operation was heading from Surabaya to the site, about six hours away.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 10:41:49 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The cause of the ferry fire has not been established in the supplied information.
Authorities left open the possibility that people not listed on the manifest could still be reported missing through a hotline.
Source
AFP news report published on .