A blaze on an Indonesian passenger ferry leaves at least 5 dead and dozens missing

SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian ferry carrying 271 people caught fire in waters off the main island of Java on Sunday, leaving at least five people dead and dozens missing as rescuers and passing vessels evacuated hundreds from the burning ship, officials said.

The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was traveling from Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java to the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, with 232 passengers, 39 crew members and 181 vehicles, mostly trucks, and an excavator, when the fire broke out between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. in waters off Sumenep regency, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas.

The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour later, Basarnas said in a statement. It said the company received information from the ferry's captain that the vessel was on fire near the northern tip of Madura island, but contact was later lost.

By 9:45 a.m., authorities determined the ferry was about 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi island after communicating with the nearby cargo vessel Meratus Project 3, which was unable to approach the burning vessel closely because it was carrying a flammable load.

Footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed thick black smoke billowing from one side of the ferry and spreading across much of the ship while videos circulating on social media and messaging groups showed terrified passengers, mostly wearing life jackets, could be seen clustered on the deck and upper sections of the vessel awaiting rescue, some jumping into the sea as orange flames and black smoke billowed from the burning vessel.

The ferry was reported to be nearly engulfed by flames, with passengers gathered on the bridge and bow. A tugboat and another passing vessel moved in and began evacuating passengers shortly before 10 a.m., the statement said.

By Sunday evening, several nearby vessels managed to rescue 227 passengers and crew and recovered five bodies. At least 39 people remained unaccounted for.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known and remained under investigation.

Ahmad Abdul Karim, one of the survivors, said the fire appeared to have started from a truck on the lower vehicle deck.

“Someone came up from the lower deck and told us there was a fire. When we went down to check, two vehicles were already burning," Karim said, "Fanned by the wind, the flames spread extremely quickly. In less than 30 minutes, everyone had been instructed to move to the bow of the ferry.”

Search and rescue teams dispatched a rescue vessel from Surabaya, although officials estimated it would take about six hours to reach the scene. A rigid inflatable boat from the Sumenep rescue post was sent toward the location but later returned to shore because of rough seas and high waves. The Indonesian Navy also deployed a warship to assist.

The 160 meters (525 feet) long and 25 meters (82 feet) wide ferry was built in Japan in 1992 and operated on the Osaka-Shinmoji route as the “Ferry Osaka” before being sold to Indonesia in 2015. It serves the Surabaya-Makassar route, a voyage that typically takes around 40 hours and is primarily used by domestic travelers and cargo transport between Java and Sulawesi.

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.

Karmini reported from Jakarta. Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

A member of Indonesia's rescue agency points a map showing the location where passenger ferry Mutiara Sentosa 2 caught fire off Madura Island, at the rescue operation's command center in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP photo/Trisnadi)

Smoke billows from passenger ship Mutiara Santosa 2 after it caught fire in the waters off Madura Island, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)

Survivors of a ferry fire arrive at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

A survivor of a ferry fire receives medical attention at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Rescuers carry the body of a victim of a ferry fire upon arrival at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Rescuers assist a survivors of a ferry fire upon arrival at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Survivors of a ferry fire arrive at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

In this photo made from video released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, smoke billows from passenger ship Mutiara Santosa 2 after it caught fire in the waters off Madura Island, Indonesia. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo made from video released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, smoke billows from passenger ship Mutiara Santosa 2 after it caught fire in the waters off Madura Island, Indonesia. (BASARNAS via AP)

SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time Monday and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlinks yet, but cut the flight short to ensure safety.

The spacecraft reentered over the Pacific and splashed down north of Hawaii three hours after blasting off from Texas. The company had been aiming for a 10-hour flight, spanning six full laps around Earth, to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program.

Starship tipped over and erupted in flames upon splashdown, a dramatic end to the mission.

Founder Elon Musk's Starship almost didn't make it to orbit when one of its engines shut down too soon. But with everything else working well and the bad engine no longer needed, flight controllers decided after several tense minutes to proceed as planned.

“Starship is orbital,” Mission Control announced to cheers.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on reaching orbit and “managing every step in a safe, responsible and especially inspirational way.”

Musk’s showpiece rocket — the biggest and most powerful ever built — carried 26 of the latest Starlink satellites to join the 11,000 older models already providing internet service. They popped out of the spacecraft one by one, drawing more cheers from the SpaceX crowds looking on from the launch site at Starbase, Texas.

The decision to end the flight early came soon afterward. No reason was provided.

It was Starship’s 14th full-scale launch from Texas’ southern tip in three years. The earlier test flights ventured no farther than the Indian Ocean halfway around the world, often crashing in flames and briefly skimming space.

This time, SpaceX was intent on circling the globe from an altitude of 170 miles (275 kilometers) — not just once but six times over almost 10 hours, ending with a Pacific splashdown near Chile. While Starship achieved the proper orbit zipping along at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph), flight controllers opted to play it safe and bring it back several hours sooner, after just a couple laps.

The first-stage booster was never meant to return to the Starbase launch site either, instead dropping into the Gulf of Mexico within minutes of the morning liftoff.

SpaceX wants to ensure that everything works before flying Starship back to Starbase. If the spacecraft breaks apart over land and rains debris onto people, “our popularity would diminish very rapidly,” Musk said at a business summit earlier this month. “That’s why we’re being extremely cautious here.”

Depending on the findings from Monday's orbital debut, the next Starship could return to the launch pad with giant mechanical arms grabbing the hovering spacecraft. If the catch works — Musk gives it even or slightly better odds — then SpaceX will refly the spacecraft by year’s end or early next year.

The 407-foot (124-meter) rocket was designed from the start to be fully reusable — a key to lowering launch costs. SpaceX managed to salvage the last Starship from the Indian Ocean in July. Engineers modified the newly launched Starship’s heat shield based on hands-on inspections from the recovered spacecraft, which is being tugged back to Starbase.

SpaceX is pressing hard to certify Starship for orbital flight, a vital step toward moon and Mars travel.

NASA’s Artemis III mission is coming up as soon as next summer, a triple-launch docking exercise in orbit around Earth between an Orion capsule full of astronauts and competing lunar landers. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Moon will blast off first, then Orion — which will close in for a linkup — then Musk’s Starship for a docking with Orion once Blue Moon is unleashed.

The next mission — Artemis IV slated for no sooner than 2028 — would have astronauts landing on the moon in either Blue Moon or Starship, whichever is ready first. Subsequent moonshots will alternate between the two billionaires’ landers.

Musk originally developed Starship for Mars, intending to launch scores of them with the red planet’s first settlers. For now, he plans to focus on the moon and use Starship to haul satellites into orbit by the truckload, phasing out the company’s frailer Falcon 9 rocket within several years. A second Starship launch site is nearing completion at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and a third is planned for Louisiana.

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SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A man watches at sunset as SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Seagulls fly near the site of SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

David Orr camps out near the site where SpaceX's mega rocket Starship, behind right, is preparing for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

David Orr rides his bike past SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)