At least five people have died and 41 remain missing after a fire broke out on the ferry Mutiara Sentosa 2 off Indonesia’s Madura Island on Sunday, August 2nd, 2026. The vessel was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when the blaze occurred as it traveled eastwards from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi.
Dramatic footage showed thick black smoke billowing from the ferry, with passengers wearing life jackets gathered on deck awaiting rescue. Indonesia’s search and rescue agency confirmed the casualties and missing persons in a statement and said operations to locate those unaccounted for are ongoing.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, frequently experiences maritime accidents, partly due to lax enforcement of safety regulations and unpredictable weather conditions.
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