# Indonesia ferry fire leaves five dead and 41 missing off Madura
Five people were confirmed dead and 41 remained missing after a ferry carrying at least 250 people caught fire at sea off Madura island in Indonesia on the event date, according to the BBC.
The vessel was traveling from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the captain reported the fire, the National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, said. BBC News reported that the ship was identified as KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 and that the first rescue information reached the Surabaya Search and Rescue office early in the morning. Basarnas later said the ferry was almost entirely engulfed in flames.
Footage broadcast by local media showed passengers in life jackets gathered on what appeared to be a lifeboat, while other clips showed people climbing down from the burning vessel. Some passengers were seen jumping into the sea before rescue crews arrived, and life rings were thrown toward those in the water. The BBC said the rescue effort was still unfolding as authorities tried to reach everyone aboard.
Officials said it was not yet clear how the fire began. That uncertainty matters because the immediate focus remained on the search for survivors and the accounting of those still missing. The agency said the fire was first reported around 08:24 local time, with the shipping company saying the blaze likely started between 06:00 and 07:00.
The BBC report underscores the scale of the emergency: a passenger vessel carrying hundreds of people, a fire that spread quickly, and a rescue operation split between people trapped on board and others already in the water. At least five deaths had already been confirmed as crews searched for the missing.
Maritime fires are especially dangerous because they can spread quickly and leave passengers with few escape routes. In this case, the BBC account shows both the speed of the incident and the improvisation of the rescue. People were seen wearing life jackets on a makeshift lifeboat, others were climbing down from the ferry, and some jumped into the sea. That mixed picture is typical of a crisis where passengers must react before crews can organize a full evacuation.
The unknown cause is also an important part of the story. The authorities had not said what started the blaze, and the reporting carefully stopped short of guessing. That restraint matters because early ferry-fire reports can easily become confused by smoke, panic and incomplete accounting. What the evidence confirms is the scale: a large vessel, hundreds aboard, a fire offshore and a search still underway for dozens of people.
