Five dead as fire engulfs Indonesia ferry

Footage has emerged from passengers who jumped overboard as flames engulfed a ferry with at least five people dying in the inferno.

Extraordinary images and footage have emerged after a ferry caught fire in Indonesia on Sunday killing five people including a pregnant woman.

Passenger ferry KMIII Barcelona was on its way to Manado, the capital of the North Sulawesi province, when it was overcome by flames.

The vessel was thought to be carrying near to 300 people when the incident occurred near Talise Island, north of Sulawesi island.

Dramatic footage has emerged from the incident filmed by a survivor from the water. It was posted onto the social media account of Abdul Rahman Agu who it’s stated is from Manando.

He appears to be filming while holding a toddler in his arms.

The video, which lasts almost 30 minutes, shows flames overtaking much of the boat’s upper decks. Scores of people can be seen in the water in life jackets while others jump overboard. Some are sobbing.

Passengers jump from the ferry KM III Barcelona. Picture: Supplied

The incident happened near Talise Island, in North Sulawesi Province. Picture: Facebook/ Abdul Rahman Agu

It was reported that the man filming can be heard saying: “Help, the KM Barcelona is on fire. There are still many people on board.”

“We are burning at sea … we need help fast,” he adds.

Clinging to a baby, he could be heard trying to calm other passengers who also jumped overboard.

It is not know what started the fire. Picture: Supplied

A passenger holds on to his child in the water. Picture: Facebook/ Abdul Rahman Agu

At one point a rescue boat from the stricken ship comes up to the person filming and takes the child. The boat appears to be solely for children.

The man is then picked up a few minutes later by another vessel.

Rescuers approach a man in the water. Picture: Facebook/ Abdul Rahman Agu

His child was saved first and another boat then picked the father up. Picture: Facebook/ Abdul Rahman Agu

Indonesia’s coast guard confirmed five people died in the watery inferno.

On Sunday, VIII/Manado Naval Base Commander Commodore May Franky Pasuna Sihombing said 280 passengers were evacuated by officers.

“Reports indicate that the ship caught fire between 12 noon and 1pm local time,” Manado Search and Rescue Office’s public relations official Nuriadin Gumeleng said, noting that one deceased victim, a pregnant woman, had already been brought ashore.

Fishermen also helped evacuate the victims to nearby islands.

No cause for the fire has been given for the fire.

A rescue ship approaches passenger ship KM Barcelona after it caught fire in the waters off Talise Island in North Sulawesi, Indonesia on Sunday, July 20, 2025. (BASARNAS via AP)

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in the Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards or bad weather.

The ferry sinking en route to Bali this month was attributed to bad weather. In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person.

In 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on Sumatra island.