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JAKARTA - Sixteen people died and 17 were missing after a fire broke out on an Indonesian ferry off Jakarta Bay today, with desperate passengers hurling themselves off the blazing vessel into the sea.
Some of the missing could still be trapped on the ship, the Levina I, Lieutenant-Colonel Hendra Pakan of the Indonesian navy's western fleet told Reuters by telephone.
"There's a possibility people are still trapped in the ship, because 17 people are still listed as missing," he said. However, he thought most on board would have tried to get off.
"Navy ships are still searching for victims in the sea around the location because we believe people would rather jump into the sea than be trapped in a ship on fire," Pakan said.
The Levina I was on its way to Bangka island off Sumatra with about 300 people on board when it caught fire soon after dawn 80km from Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port.
TV footage of the stricken vessel showed plumes of thick black smoke emerging from the ferry's lower decks, while a fire-fighting ship alongside tried to douse the blaze.
At some points during the day officials had said the fire was out, but Pakan said his information early today was that it was still burning.
One of the first survivors brought back to Jakarta described panic when the crew told passengers the fire had broken out in the lower deck, loaded with motorcycles and cars.
"It was dark. The first thing I did was look for a lifebuoy and then jumped into the sea. I saw someone jump without a lifebuoy who died," said the passenger, giving his name as Mursid.
Bobby Mamahit, an official at the centre for navigation at the transport ministry, told reporters at the port in the afternoon that 16 people had died, 17 were missing and 274 had survived. He said the ferry was 27 years old and built in Japan.
Speaking to Reuters several hours later, he said the dead and missing figures were unchanged, and he thought only crew trying to fight the blaze were likely to have been on the lower decks, "so the possibility of passengers who were trapped in the ferry is small."
Despite the smouldering fire, officials were optimistic the ferry would stay afloat and eventually be towed back to port.
"We are going to tow the ferry using a navy tugboat when the situation allows us, maybe in one or two days," Pakan said.
Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa said it was too early to be clear on the cause of the blaze but according to search coordinator Sato Bisri the ferry's engineer and captain said the fire started in a truck.
"The flame got bigger after they poured water on it. We suspect it was some kind of chemical material."
Colonel Didin Z.A, who headed the navy rescue team, told reporters in the port that the dead included three children.
The port was crowded with anxious relatives of passengers, as ambulances and paramedics stood ready to treat survivors.
Mus Andri, a 32 year-old working for a furniture company, said he jumped from the vessel after his sarong caught fire, and made it to a rubber boat with about 50 others on board.
Ferries are a popular means of transport among the 17,000 islands of Indonesia, where sea connections are cheaper and more available than air routes. But safety standards are not always strictly enforced and accidents occur fairly often.
- REUTERS
