Surabaya, E. Java. Grief filled the home of Sari Sukoco on Monday as the body of the 39-year-old truck driver arrived after he was killed in the fire aboard the KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 off the northern coast of Madura.

For his family, the tragedy was made more painful by the circumstances of his final moments.

Sari had been traveling with his longtime colleague, Bambang Susilo, to Makassar to deliver cold-storage equipment. The two had collected the shipment in Jakarta and boarded the ferry as part of a routine delivery journey. But they never reached their destination.

The ferry caught fire on Sunday morning, Aug. 2, while sailing toward Makassar. The blaze spread rapidly, forcing passengers to flee the vessel as thick smoke filled the decks.

After breakfast, Bambang said, passengers suddenly began shouting that a fire had broken out. Smoke was rising from the lower part of the vessel, where heavy trucks were stored, and the deck became increasingly hot.

Bambang and Sari ran toward the end of the ship and put on life jackets. Bambang urged his colleague to jump into the sea, but Sari hesitated.

“After breakfast, we saw thick smoke coming from the lower deck and the deck below became hot. I went upstairs and put on a life jacket. I asked him to jump, but he just smiled and nodded. So I jumped first,” Bambang said at Sari’s family home on Monday.

After hitting the water, Bambang and other passengers tried to move away from the burning ferry and toward a nearby vessel.

Only after reaching the rescue ship did he learn what had happened to his colleague.

“I only found out that he had been found dead after I was on the rescue ship,” he said.

Bambang had worked alongside Sari for almost eight years. He remembered him as a kind and helpful man who was always willing to assist others.

Sari had also told colleagues that he planned to get married this year.

Eli Sri Rahayu, Sari’s sister, struggled to hold back tears as she recalled seeing video footage of her brother being recovered by rescuers from the Madura waters.

“I saw the video and I knew it was my brother. Water was coming from his mouth as he was being helped. In my heart, I knew he was already gone,” Eli said.

Sari’s body was handed over to his family on Monday and later buried at a public cemetery in Sidorejo village, Kauman district, Tulungagung. Another victim, Sri Indratmo Wijaya of Pati, Central Java, was also handed over to his family. Three other bodies of victims from outside Java remained at Bhayangkara Hospital in East Java as authorities worked to contact their families.

Rescue Operation Continues
The ferry disaster has prompted a continuing search-and-rescue operation and a government review of the vessel’s safety standards.

The Transportation Ministry said 234 people had been evacuated as of Monday, with 229 survivors and five confirmed deaths.

By Tuesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said there was no indication that additional victims remained trapped inside the burned-out ferry.

Basarnas chief Air Marshal Mohammad Syafii said the conclusion was based on statements from the vessel’s surviving captain and crew, as well as passengers who had been rescued. All 25 crew members were reported to have survived. 

Interviews with survivors receiving treatment at hospitals indicated that the relatives and colleagues they knew to have been aboard had also been accounted for, Syafii said.

Even so, search operations have not been called off.

“Search operations will continue while we ensure the manifest matches the data of all passengers aboard the vessel,” Syafii said Tuesday.

Cause of Fire Remains Unknown
The cause of the blaze has yet to be determined.

Transportation Ministry officials said the government is awaiting an independent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT).

Deputy Transportation Minister Suntana said investigators were waiting to recover the ferry’s Voyage Data Recorder, or VDR, a key piece of evidence that could help reconstruct what happened before the fire.

The VDR, often described as a ship’s black box, records critical navigation information, including the vessel’s position, speed, bridge audio and radio communications.

“We will wait for the KNKT investigation. The results will be announced after the investigation is completed because the KNKT has the authority to determine the cause of the accident,” Suntana said after visiting survivors at PHC Hospital in Surabaya on Monday.

The government has not drawn conclusions about the cause of the fire while the investigation is ongoing.

Questions have also emerged over the availability of lifeboats and other safety equipment aboard the ferry.

Suntana said all passenger vessels are required to comply with safety regulations set by the Transportation Ministry. KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 underwent its latest ramp inspection in June, he said.

Authorities are now reviewing the results of that inspection, including the vessel’s operational condition and safety equipment.

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