North Sulawesi – At least three people were killed and around 150 others rescued after a passenger ship caught fire in the waters off Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province on Sunday, officials and local media reported.
Search and rescue efforts are underway, with several boats, rigid inflatable boats, and other vessels deployed, Veri Ariyanto, a senior official at the provincial search and rescue office, told reporters.
The fire broke out on board a ferry named Barcelona, carrying 280 people, near Talisei Island, about 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) from the provincial capital, Manado, local English daily The Jakarta Globe reported.
The rescued passengers were evacuated to nearby Ganga Island.
This marks the third maritime accident involving passenger vessels in Indonesia this month. Just weeks earlier, another ferry sank in the Bali Strait, resulting in about 35 people dead or missing. (Anadolu)
