460 Evacuated from KMP Batumandi Fire off Java

A passenger ferry carrying 460 people caught fire as it approached Merak Port in western Java on October 20, 2026.

KMP Batumandi, a state vessel, was nearing the port in Cilegon, Banten province, when fire broke out near the stern at around 4:15 in the afternoon local time. All 420 passengers and 40 crew were taken off using 18 rescue boats. Eleven were hospitalized in Cilegon. No one died.

The cause was under investigation.

The incident came three days after the KM Prima Sentosa fire off Bengkulu, in which all 26 crew were rescued by Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency Basarnas.