Five Dead, 41 Missing in Indonesia Ferry Fire

File photo: In this photo released by Makassar Search and Rescue Office on Sunday, July 19, 2026, Indonesian Navy personnel cruises on a rubber boat during a search for victims after a passenger boat sank in the waters near Balaloho Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Makassar SAR Office via AP)

Five people have been found dead and 41 are missing after an Indonesian ferry with 271 people on board caught fire while at sea on Sunday, search and rescue officials said.

The captain reported the fire as the vessel sailed from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi, according to Basarnas, the National Search and Rescue Agency.