The KM Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry caught fire on August 2 while traveling from Surabaya, East Java, to Makassar, South Sulawesi, near Madura Island, Indonesia [1, 2, 3]. The blaze broke out at sea, prompting passengers and crew to don life jackets and many to jump into the water to escape the flames [1, 4, 5]. The ferry's captain reported the fire before losing contact[p1,s1,s9,s10].
Initial reports stated 271 people, including passengers and crew, were aboard [1, 6, 2, 3, 7]. However, the official ferry manifest listed 238 individuals [4, 8]. Rescue teams deployed seven boats, including a naval corvette, speedboats, a patrol boat, and a helicopter, to conduct search operations over an area spanning 16km east and west of the incident site [3, 7]. Arman Asmara Syarifuddin, director of marine and air affairs at East Java police, said, "Police with the rescue agency and the Navy have deployed seven boats and one helicopter to find the missing people" and added the search might last seven days with a possible two-week extension [3].
By August 3, authorities had rescued between 225 to 238 people and evacuated survivors to the Port of Gapura Surya Nusantara in Surabaya [3, 7, 4, 5, 9, 8]. The number of missing was revised down from 41 to 28 after accounting for some survivors during ongoing rescue efforts [3, 7]. Five people have been confirmed dead as a result of the fire [1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 8].
Nanang Sigit, Surabaya Search and Rescue Office Chief, described the extent of the damage: "Most of the vessel was almost destroyed by the flames. Passengers gathered on the bridge and the front section of the ship while waiting for assistance." He noted that "several passengers who reportedly jumped into the sea to save themselves had been rescued by nearby boats" [9].
The cause of the fire remains under investigation [3, 4, 9, 8]. Indonesia’s ferry safety standards have been criticized for lax enforcement, contributing to relatively frequent accidents [3, 4, 8].
Mohammad Syafii, chief of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said, "While all the passengers and crew on the manifest have been accounted for, the authorities may resume the search if there are family reports of relatives who have not been found" [4]. The official search and rescue operation was declared complete on August 4, with all 238 persons accounted for as either rescued or confirmed dead [4].
