JAKARTA – On Sunday, 20 July 2025, a fire broke out on the KM Barcelona 5 ferry near North Sulawesi, Indonesia, leading to a major rescue effort. The incident took the lives of at least three people and forced hundreds to leap into the water as the vessel became engulfed in flames.
The ferry was travelling from the Talaud Islands to Manado with roughly 568 passengers and crew on board when the fire started at around 1.30 pm local time. Over 560 people were pulled from the sea in the rescue.
The blaze began at the back of the ferry and quickly spread, sending smoke and flames through the decks. Many passengers, wearing life jackets, jumped off near Talise Island, about an hour away from Likupang. Videos online showed the chaos as people tried to escape.
One man, Abdul Rahmad Agu, was filmed holding a toddler and asking for help during the fire. Another survivor, Alwina Inang, shared with local news that her family was eating when smoke and flames reached the bridge, forcing them to jump overboard.
She floated in the sea for nearly an hour before she was picked up.
The National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) launched a joint operation with the navy, coast guard, police, and local fishers. The rescue teams used navy ships, coast guard boats, inflatable rafts and fishing boats to collect survivors and take them to safety on Ganga Island.
Local fishers played a big part in helping passengers who were stranded. Rescue teams worked urgently to pull as many people as possible from the water before nightfall, according to George Leo Mercy Randang, head of the Manado search and rescue team.
Early reports suggested five casualties, but by the next morning, BASARNAS confirmed that three people had died. Two passengers, including a two-month-old baby who had seawater in their lungs, were found alive in the hospital.
Among those who lost their lives was a pregnant woman. The exact passenger count is still in question, since the official manifest only listed 280 passengers and 15 crew.
This kind of under-reporting is common in Indonesia, making rescue operations more difficult. The ferry’s capacity is 600, and so far, 568 people are confirmed to have survived. Search teams are still making sure no one is missing.
Investigators are still trying to find out what sparked the fire. Authorities say the flames were put out within about an hour, but the cause remains unknown. Ongoing problems with safety checks in Indonesia’s marine sector are often cited in disasters like this.
Ferries are a key means of travel across Indonesia’s thousands of islands, but accidents like these are not rare. Earlier in July, the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank off the coast of Bali, causing at least 19 deaths and 16 missing.
Hundreds of rescue workers, navy ships, and boats took part in that search. Only days later, a speedboat capsized near the Mentawai Islands during a storm, but everyone was rescued. In 2018, a ferry sank in Lake Toba, leaving more than 150 dead.
These frequent incidents show the ongoing risks passengers face due to weak safety standards and unpredictable weather.
After the fire, families gathered at Manado Port waiting for news. Authorities have asked everyone to remain calm as recovery efforts continue. Many are calling for stronger safety rules to prevent more tragedies at sea.
Source: The Associated Press
