Dramatic footage captured near the scene on Sunday shows a towering column of smoke rising from the KM Barcelona 5 as dozens of people floated in the ocean, watching the vessel burn.
Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency, BASARNAS, confirmed the death toll, revising an earlier count of five fatalities after two people previously thought to have died were later found alive in hospital – including a two-month-old baby who had seawater in their lungs.
“The SAR team is currently combing the waters around the fire site to ensure no passengers are left behind or adrift at sea,” BASARNAS said in a statement.
The agency said it was working with the Indonesian Navy, Water Police, local disaster management authorities and local fishermen in the search and rescue effort.
Local fishermen reportedly rushed to the scene to help pull survivors from the water.
The cause of the fire remains unknown. The KM Barcelona 5 was en route to Manado, the provincial capital, when the fire broke out in the waters north of the city.
Earlier this month, a ferry near Bali sank, killing at least 18 people, and on July 15 in West Sumatra, 11 people survived a boat capsize after swimming for six hours to reach land.
