5 Dead, 41 Missing After Passenger Ferry Catches Fire Off Indonesia’s Madura Island
At least five people have died and 41 remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura island on Sunday, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation, authorities said.
The ferry was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when the fire broke out, according to Indonesia’s search and rescue agency. By Sunday afternoon, at least 225 people had been rescued, with efforts continuing to locate those still unaccounted for.
The vessel was en route from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the blaze started near Madura island, off the northeastern coast of Java.
Multiple vessels were deployed to assist in the rescue effort, as authorities worked to search the surrounding waters and locate everyone who had been aboard.
BREAKING: At least five people have died and 41 remain missing after the passenger ship KM Mutiara Sentosa 2 caught fire this morning off Madura Island in the Java Sea, near Sumenep Regency, Indonesia.
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) August 2, 2026
Inaccurate passenger manifests continue to hamper search and rescue efforts. pic.twitter.com/qqSgMYlh5B
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
The incident comes just over a year after another fatal ferry fire in Indonesia. In July 2025, at least three people were killed and roughly 150 rescued after a passenger vessel caught fire off North Sulawesi province.
That vessel, the KM Barcelona 5, was carrying around 280 people when it caught fire while sailing near Manado, the provincial capital, on July 19 last year.
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The 2025 incident added to Indonesia’s long history of deadly ferry fires and maritime accidents. In May 2021, the KM Karya Indah caught fire in the Molucca Sea shortly after departing Ternate, forcing passengers and crew to jump into the water. All 181 passengers, including 22 children, along with 14 crew members, were rescued with the help of authorities and local fishing boats, and no casualties were reported in that incident.
Ferry accidents remain common in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands, with many incidents attributed to lax regulation of boat services.