Twenty three people were killed and
dozens injured on Sunday after a fire ripped through a boat carrying
nearly 250 people to islands north of the Indonesian capital Jakarta,
the city’s search and rescue agency said.
The Zahro Express caught fire shortly
after leaving Muara Angke port in North Jakarta. The cause of the
fire was thought to be a short circuit on a power generator, said
police.
“Thick smoke suddenly emerged,
blanketing the cabin,” said survivor Ardi who was being treated in
a Jakarta hospital.
“All passengers panicked and ran up
to the deck to throw floats into the water. In a split second, the
fire becomes bigger coming from where fuel is stored,” said Ardi,
who was on the boat with his son.
The boat was towed back to port where a
Reuters witness saw victims in body bags being removed from the badly
charred ship.
According to the head of Jakarta’s
search and rescue agency, Hendra Sudirman, 248 people were on board,
more than double the previous estimate of 100, and out of more than
200 people rescued, 32 were being treated at hospitals in Jakarta.
Sea accidents are frequent in
Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago, with vessels often overloaded and
having too few life jackets on boat. (Reuters/NAN)
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