A fire broke out on board a boat carrying 275 people, including 35 children.
As the awe-inspiring images released by the rescue teams show, some passengers jumped into the water to cling to life rafts near the burning ferry.
"274 people were evacuated to safety," Muhammad Arafah, responsible for the rescue operation, told Kompas TV channel.
“We are still looking for a 43 year old man. The causes of the fire are still unknown, but around ten crew members were arrested as part of the investigation that was opened. Maritime accidents are frequent in Indonesia due to the lack of maintenance of the boats, which are a popular means of transport to circulate between the 17,000 islands and islets. In 2018, nearly 160 people drowned when a ferry sank in Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra. In 2009, more than 300 people were killed in the sinking of a ferry between the islands of Celebes and Borneo.
