Indonesia: Ship carrying 277 people catches fire in waters off East Java

A passenger ship that was carrying 277 people caught fire late on Thursday in waters off East Java province in Indonesia. There were many passengers reportedly trapped inside the ship, head of the operational section of the provincial search and rescue office Supriono Mesiham said on Friday.

The vessel, KM Santika Nusantara was traveling from Tanjung Perak port in East Java's Surabaya to East Kalimantan province's Balikpapan city.

Syachrul Nugroho, a spokesman for Surabaya's Tanjung Perak port, told AFP news agency it appeared the ferry's power went down, cutting off water pumps.

About 247 people were rescued by nearby ships and boats, and rescuers were still searching for 30 others thought to be missing, he said. "The crew couldn't extinguish the fire because the water pumps weren't working so passengers started to abandon the ship," he added.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, with more than 17,000 islands. Many accidents are blamed on lax regulation of boat services.

Seven people were killed and four others went missing as a ship caught fire in waters off central Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi province on Saturday last week. Two children were also reported to be among the dead.

The incident happened in waters off Bokori Island in Konawe district after the ship left from a seaport in Kendari of the province. A total of 61 people survived the incident and they were rescued by local sailors.