Number of people saved from burning Indonesian ferry rises to 575, rescuers say

In this photo made from video released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), smoke billows from passenger ship KM Barcelona after it caught fire in the waters off Talise Island in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, July 20, 2025. (BASARNAS via AP)

MANADO, Indonesia — Rescuers in Indonesia responding to a ferry that caught fire and killed at least three people said Monday they had rescued 575 people - far more than originally reported - and that two people were still missing.

The KM Barcelona V-A caught fire Sunday in the sea off North Sulawesi province, and initial reports said five people were dead and about 280 rescued, based on the ship’s manifest. However, by Monday afternoon officials updated the death toll to three, with two missing, and said many more people were aboard than were listed, and that 575 of them were rescued.

It is common in Indonesia for the number of passengers on a boat or ferry to differ from the manifest. Such discrepancies can reflect overcrowding and complicate search and rescue efforts, said navy First Adm. Franky Pasuna Sihombing.

The KM Barcelona V-A was making its regular half-day journey between the ports of Melonguane and Manado when it caught fire about midday Sunday, Sihombing said.

A coast guard ship, six rescue vessels and several inflatable boats were deployed in the rescue operation, Sihombing said. The crews pulled many people from the sea and took them to nearby islands, and local fishermen also saved some survivors wearing life jackets as they were drifting in the choppy waters.

Three bodies were recovered, including a pregnant woman, and rescuers were searching for two passengers reportedly still missing, the Manado city Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement.

The ferry’s manifest initially registered only 280 passengers and 15 crew members, but by Monday afternoon the search and rescue agency confirmed that 575 survivors had been rescued, including a 2-month-old baby whose lungs were filled with seawater. The baby is now in a stable condition at a hospital.

The ferry had a capacity of 600 people.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where ferries are a common method of travel. Disasters occur regularly, with weak safety enforcement often blamed.

A speedboat carrying 18 people capsized during a storm July 14, and all its occupants were found rescued by the next day. Earlier in the month, a ferry sank near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, leaving at least 19 dead and 16 others missing. A two-week search operation involved more than 600 rescuers, three navy ships, 15 boats, a helicopter and divers.

Gracey Wakari, The Associated Press

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.