Rescuers safely rescued all passengers and crew from a ferry that caught fire Tuesday while it was approaching a port in western Indonesia, officials said. According to Associated Press the KMP Batumandi departed Bakauheni Port in Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra island at about 2:52 p.m. and was nearing Pier 6 at Merak Port in Cilegon, Banten province on Java island, when shore personnel spotted flames near the vessel's stern about two hours later, said Windy Andale, the spokesperson for state-run ferry operator, PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry. “The evacuation was completed within an hour,” Andale said in a statement, adding that emergency crews from the port authority, the National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas, and police were continuing efforts to handle the incident Tuesday evening. She said the cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the company was coordinating with port authorities and other agencies and would support the investigation while providing further updates as information becomes available.
Source: Kanal13
