Image for representation purposes only 5 people died, and 41 remain missing after a ferry, the Mutiara Sentosa 2, caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island, which is located off the northeastern shores of Java. According to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, called Basarnas, the ferry was engulfed in flames in the early morning hours, between 6 to 7 am local time on Sunday. It was sailing from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi. 271 people were onboard the vessel, including 232 passengers and 39 crew members. Sources reveal that the operator of the ferry, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, informed the rescue authorities an hour after the fire started. The operator received the news of the incident from the ferry’s captain, and contact with the vessel was then lost. The rescue team then determined the location, which was found to be 19 nm north of Buruan Sapudi Island, after communication was established with a vessel close to the burning ferry. The vessel, however, could not go near the distressed ferry since it was carrying flammable cargo. Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency released footage of the incident, which showed thick black smoke coming out from the ferry as passengers waited on the deck for rescue. Images and videos on social media showed scared passengers on the upper decks, while a few even jumped into the sea as fire rapidly spread across the ferry. Basarnas said that a rescue ship was sent from Surabaya, though it took 6 hours to reach the site of the incident. Another inflatable boat sent from a nearby rescue post could not reach the location due to the rough sea and powerful waves. The Indonesian Navy also got involved and sent a warship to rescue the people. A tugboat and another vessel also came to the rescue when the ferry was almost entirely covered in flames. Several vessels, most sailing nearby, saved 255 passengers and crew members by Sunday afternoon. They also retrieved 5 bodies from the surroundi