MANADO, July 20: A passenger ferry carrying hundreds of people caught fire off Sulawesi island in Indonesia, killing at least five people.
Over 280 people were rescued and evacuation efforts are ongoing.
The KM Barcelona 5 was headed to Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, from Talaud.
Three navy ships were deployed, and 284 passengers and crew members have been evacuated so far.
Local fishermen saved some survivors wearing life jackets as they drifted to nearby islands in the choppy waters. Rescuers retrieved five bodies, including a pregnant woman.
There were no immediate reports of injuries and no exact figures of passengers and crew members onboard the ferry.
The cause of the fire is being investigated. Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.
In July, residents of Mentawai Islands found several people stranded after a speedboat carrying 18 people capsized during a storm.
A ferry sank near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali early this month, leaving at least 19 dead and 16 others missing. (AP)
