A fire aboard a ferry travelling between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok has left a 19-year-old woman dead, while 172 passengers were rescued in a large-scale evacuation operation, local rescue authorities said.
The blaze broke out in the early hours of Wednesday on a ferry that had departed Bali and was bound for neighbouring Lombok. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
According to Mohammad Hariyadi, head of Lombok's search and rescue agency, the victim was a 19-year-old Indonesian woman.
Un total de 112 personas fueron rescatadas después de que el ferry de pasajeros Putri Yasmin se incendiara en aguas frente a la isla de Lombok, en la provincia de Nusa Tenggara Occidental, informaron autoridades de #Indonesia.
— David de la Paz 戴维 (@daviddelapaz) August 12, 2026
Un funcionario local dijo a medios de… pic.twitter.com/wCMfZpNcZv
An AFP photographer at Lembar Port on Lombok's west coast witnessed a body being brought ashore in a body bag.
Passengers jumped into the sea
One survivor, Kiki Okta Prandika, 25, told reporters in Lembar that he grabbed a life jacket before jumping into the sea along with many other passengers to escape the flames.
The 172 passengers rescued from the vessel included two Australian tourists.
A passenger ferry, the Putri Yasmin, caught fire in waters off Lombok island, #Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province, on Wednesday. All 114 passengers on board have been safely evacuated, local authorities said. No casualties have been reported so far. The cause of the fire has… pic.twitter.com/K0NR4nwcWG
— CCTV Asia Pacific (@CCTVAsiaPacific) August 12, 2026
According to Hariyadi, at least three vessels took part in the evacuation effort, including a naval vessel and another ferry.
Search operation continues
Rescue boats remain in the area while a helicopter is conducting reconnaissance flights.
Earlier, Hariyadi said no passengers or crew members remained aboard the burning ferry.
Authorities have not reported any additional injuries or missing persons.
The fire is the latest maritime incident in Indonesia, an archipelago that relies heavily on ferry transport between its thousands of islands.
Source: CNA
