October 2, 2026
MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers in Indonesia responding to a ferry that caught fire and killed at least three people said Monday they had rescued 575 people — far more than originally reported — and that two people were still missing.
The KM Barcelona V-A caught fire Sunday in the sea off North Sulawesi province, and initial reports said five people were dead and about 280 were rescued, based on the ship's manifest. However, by Monday afternoon, officials updated the death toll to three, with two missing, and said many more people were aboard than were listed, and that 575 of them were rescued.
It is common in Indonesia for the number of passengers on a boat or ferry to differ from the manifest. Such discrepancies can reflect overcrowding and complicate search and rescue efforts, said Navy First Adm. Franky Pasuna Sihombing.
The KM Barcelona V-A was making its regular half-day journey between the ports of Melonguane and Manado when it caught fire about midday Sunday, Sihombing said.
A coast guard ship, six rescue vessels, and several inflatable boats were deployed in the rescue operation, Sihombing said. The crews pulled many people from the sea and took them to nearby islands, and local fishermen also saved some survivors wearing life jackets as they were drifting in the choppy waters.
Three bodies were recovered, including a pregnant woman, and rescuers were searching for two passengers reportedly still missing, the Manado city Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement.
Among those rescued was a 2-month-old baby whose lungs were filled with seawater. The baby is now in a stable condition at a hospital.
The ferry had a capacity of 600 people.
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.
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