Indonesia Ferry Fire kills at least 3 people, including pregnant women, but more than 560 rescued

Go away, Indonesia – Indonesian rescuers who evacuated people from a passenger ferry who caught fire at sea, said more than 560 on Monday they were rescued and three died.

The KM Barcelona 5 caught fire around noon on Sunday while heading to Manado, the capital of the province of North Sulawesi, on its regular half -day trip from the port of Melonguane in the district of the Talaud Islands in the same province, according to the first admirer Franky Pasuna Sihombing, head of the base of the Manado Navy.

A coastal guard ship, six rescue ships and several inflatable ships were deployed in the rescue operation, Sihombing said. The crews brought many people out of the sea and took them to the nearby islands, and local fishermen also saved some survivors who wore life jackets while heading in the choppy waters.

The photos and videos circulated on social networks showed terrified passengers, mostly using life jackets, jumping to the sea while calling oranges and black smoke were scored from the burning container.

The search and rescue operation continued, although immediate reports of people were not missing. The authorities said previously that five people had died, but the National Search and Rescue Agency reviewed three on Monday after two passengers initially reported as dead were saved in a hospital, including a 2 -month -old baby whose lungs were full of sea water.

The fire that began in the Ferry stern was extinguished in an hour, Sihombing said. The Ferry manifesto initially registered only 280 passengers and 15 crew members, but the National Rescue Agency confirmed that 568 survivors had been rescued and three recovered bodies, including a pregnant woman.

It is common for the number of passengers in a boat or ferry to differ from the manifesto in Indonesia. This discrepancy can contribute to accidents and can complicate search and rescue efforts, Sihombing said.

Ferry’s capacity is 600 people.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where transforders are a common travel method. Disasters occur regularlywith a weak application of often blamed.

A fast boat that transported 18 people overturned during a storm on July 14, and all its occupants were rescued the next day. At the beginning of the month, a ferry sank near the tourist island of Indonesia in Bali, leaving at least 19 dead and another 16 missing. A two -week search operation involved more than 600 rescuers, three ships from the Navy, 15 ships, a helicopter and divers.

• Boat accident
• Fire
• Indonesia