Cilegon, Banten. A passenger ferry caught fire as it approached Merak Port in Banten province on Tuesday afternoon in the latest maritime incident in recent months, sending thick black smoke billowing from the vessel and forcing passengers to scramble for safety. 

Authorities said everyone aboard was successfully evacuated.

The fire broke out aboard KMP Batumandi, a ferry operated by state-owned ASDP Indonesia Ferry, as it approached the busy Merak-Bakauheni crossing linking Java and Sumatra.

Passenger Heri said he was on the vessel's upper deck when he noticed thick smoke rising from the lower deck, where vehicles were being transported.

The smoke quickly spread upward, triggering panic as passengers rushed to find life jackets and board lifeboats. Some jumped into the sea as the flames intensified.

"When it happened, I was upstairs. I saw thick smoke coming from below, panicked and immediately ran. Many passengers scrambled for life jackets and climbed into lifeboats. Some jumped into the sea when they saw the flames growing bigger," Heri told reporters.

The ferry's proximity to Merak Port allowed nearby vessels to assist with the evacuation.

The Banten Port Authority confirmed that all passengers and crew members aboard KMP Batumandi had been transferred safely to another ferry, KMP Royce 1.

"Based on information received from Merak Vessel Traffic Service, at 4:56 p.m., KMP Royce 1 reported that all passengers and crew members of KMP Batumandi had been evacuated onto the vessel. Therefore, all passengers and crew were reported to have been safely evacuated," Banten Port Authority head Yogie Nugraha said in a statement.

Fire Still Burning Hours After Incident
Port authorities said the incident was first reported at approximately 4:15 p.m. as KMP Batumandi approached Merak after departing Bakauheni Port in Lampung about two hours earlier.

An initial report to port authorities indicated that the fire may have originated in the vessel's engine room, although the exact cause had yet to be established.

As of 9 p.m., firefighters were still struggling to extinguish the blaze, with emergency crews continuing their efforts to bring the fire under control.

Authorities had not released an official estimate of the damage or confirmed the cause of the fire.

The Merak-Bakauheni ferry crossing, which connects Java and Sumatra across the Sunda Strait, is one of Indonesia's busiest maritime routes, carrying more than 20 million passengers and 5 million vehicles annually.

Latest in Series of Maritime Accidents
The Batumandi fire is the latest in a series of serious passenger vessel accidents reported in Indonesia over the past five months.

In September, KMP Virgo Transport 8 capsized and sank in the Java Sea while carrying 243 people. According to the figures in the latest reports, rescuers recovered 82 bodies, while more than 50 people remained missing.

On Aug. 12, KMP Putri Yasmin caught fire in waters off Lombok while carrying 212 people. One person was killed, and four others were reported missing.

Earlier, on Aug. 2, KMP Mutiara Sentosa II caught fire off Sumenep with 238 passengers aboard, killing five people.

On July 15, the motor vessel Nurul Salsa, believed to be carrying 78 people, sank in waters off the Selayar Islands in South Sulawesi. Four bodies were recovered, while 14 people were reported missing.

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