A passenger ship caught fire in waters off North Maluku, Indonesia

A passenger ship – KM Karya Indah caught fire in waters off North Maluku, Indonesia

In the remote Molucca Sea on Saturday (29), an Indonesian passenger ferry, KM Karya Indah caught fire, forcing passengers and crew to flee the ship.

The ferry Karya Indah was sailing from Ternate to Sulabes when it caught fire at around 0700 hours on Saturday morning. Passengers and staff leaped over the side in lifejackets and onto the vessel’s liferafts when the master ordered them to abandoned the ship. According to the Indonesian coast guard agency Basarnas, SAR assets began operating about 0850 a.m., and first responders arrived at 1020 a.m.

According to Indonesia’s Directorate General of Sea, all 181 passengers and 14 crew members recorded on the ship’s manifest were safe and sound.