The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 02/08/2011
A ship carrying 226 passengers heading from Tanjung Priok, Jakarta to Bangka Belitung caught fire at 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jakarta Police aquatic division chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edion said Tuesday.
The fire is suspected to have started in the vessel's engine room, and the blaze had been completely extinguished by 5.10 a.m.
“We are in the process of evacuating passengers,” Edion said.
The evacuees were taken to two points, Pelni harbour and Tanjung Priok port.
This is the second time in two weeks a passenger ship has caught fire in Indonesian waters.
Previously, on Jan. 28, the KM Laut Teduh 2 passenger ferry caught fire in the Sunda Strait, killing 16 people.
