One feared dead after boxship suffers engine room fire in South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Sinar Ambon (Photo: MarineTraffic.com/iwan afwan)

Indonesian authorities have reported that one person has gone missing and is feared to have died following an apparent attempt to escape a fire on an underway vessel in South Kalimantan province on Wednesday, October 27.

The missing individual has been identified as a crewman on the 98-metre containership Sinar Ambon, which was underway in the Barito River off Kaget Island when a blaze ignited in its engine room at 12:15 local time on Wednesday.

The incident occurred as the vessel was en route from Surabaya to South Kalimantan’s capital of Banjarmasin with a cargo of containers.

The crewman reportedly jumped overboard as the fire raged in the engine room. However, no trace of this individual has yet been found.

The remainder of the crew were successfully evacuated from the stricken vessel. Four individuals had suffered burn injuries and are being treated in hospital in Banjarmasin.

An investigation has been launched to identify the cause of the fire while the search for the missing crewman continues.


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