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At least five dead, 41 missing after ferry catches fire off Indonesia

Al Jazeera · 🇶🇦 public Qatar · · 475 words · By AP; Reuters
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What to know about At least five dead, 41 missing after ferry catches fire off Indonesia

At least five dead, 41 missing after ferry catches fire off Indonesia The ship was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when the blaze broke out as it sailed eastwards from Java.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

At least five dead, 41 missing after ferry catches fire off Indonesia The ship was carrying 271 passengers and crew members when the blaze broke out as it sailed eastwards from Java.

Why it matters

At least five people have been killed and 41 are missing after a ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island, the country’s search and rescue agency said.

Common ground

The vessel, the Mutiara Sentosa 2, caught fire between 6am and 7am local time on Sunday (23:00 and 00:00 GMT), while travelling from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/2/at-least-five-dead-41-missing-after-ferr…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 9
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
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Claim 1: “while travelling from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi”
CORROBORATED
Multiple news sources explicitly state the ferry was traveling from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2026 (MMXXVI) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2026th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 26th year of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Indonesia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of notable amusement parks in Asia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amusement_parks_in_Asi…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indonesia's transport system has been shaped over time by the economic resource base of an archipelago with thousands of islands, and the distribution of its more than 200 million people concentrated …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Indonesia
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “The vessel, the Mutiara Sentosa 2, caught fire between 6am and 7am local time on Sunday (23:00 and 00:00 GMT)”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the vessel was the Mutiara Sentosa 2 and the fire occurred between 6am and 7am local time on Sunday.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024–25 Liga 2 (also known as the 2024–25 Pegadaian Liga 2 for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Liga 2 under its current name and the 15th season under its current league structur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_Liga_2_(Indonesia)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the bus routes operated by various bus operators in and around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. Dates and times stated in the tables are according to 00:00 Malaysia Time (MST) (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_routes_in_Greater_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin (Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين, [ˈsiti nʊrhaˈliza ˈbinti taˈrudɪn]; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the "Voice of A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siti_Nurhaliza
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “the ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, alerted rescuers about an hour after the fire broke out”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that the ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office approximately one hour after the fire broke out.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — SuperFerry Travel & Leisure, or SuperFerry, (formerly known as Aboitiz SuperFerry and later, WG&A SuperFerry) was the passenger travel and leisure brand of the Aboitiz Transport System Corporation (AT…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperFerry
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web search NEUTRAL — The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the Surabaya search and rescue office about an hour later, Basarnas confirmed.Rescuers then found five survivors, including a …
https://news.sky.com/story/at-least-five-dead-and-41-missing…
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web search NEUTRAL — The statement said that based on information from the shipping company, the fire occurred at around 6am to 7am local time. The ferry operator, PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran, reported the incident to the…
https://www.aol.com/articles/least-five-dead-41-missing-1045…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 4: “Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said 271 people were on board when the fire broke out – 232 passengers and 39 crew members”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources cite Basarnas reporting 271 people on board, consisting of 232 passengers and 39 crew members.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Mutiara Sentosa 2, carrying 271 people — 232 passengers and 39 crew members — was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the fire broke out between 6am and 7am lo…
https://www.newsofbahrain.com/world/138654.html
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry, which was carrying 271 passengers and crew members, caught fire off Indonesia's Madura island, the country's rescue agency said.It was heading from Surabaya, in East Java …
https://news.sky.com/story/at-least-five-dead-and-41-missing…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The fire is understood to have started just hours after Mutiara Sentosa 2, carrying 285 passengers and crew, departed a port in Surabaya heading for Makassar.
https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/five-dead-dozens-missing-horr…
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Claim 5: “Authorities later determined the ferry’s location, about 19 nautical miles (35km) north of Buruan Sapudi Island”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the location was determined to be approximately 19 nautical miles (35km) north of Buruan Sapudi Island.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 18 hours ago · Authorities later determined the ferry’s location, about 19 nautical miles (35km) north of Buruan Sapudi Island, after establishing communication with a nearby cargo vessel.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/2/at-least-five-dead-4…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aug 3, 2026 · The distressed ship was later located approximately 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi island. Initial rescue efforts were supported by nearby vessels, including the cargo ship Mer…
https://www.whalesbook.com/news/English/transportation/PT-At…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 18 hours ago · Search officials then used information from the nearby cargo vessel Meratus Project 3 to locate the burning ferry approximately 19 nautical miles north of Buruan Sapudi Island.
https://business-news-today.com/indonesia-ferry-fire-kills-f…
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Claim 6: “At least five people have been killed and 41 are missing after a ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results (AOL, Google News, and other news reports) confirm that at least five people died and 41 are missing after a ferry fire off Madura Island.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in the South East Asian country of Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island has an area of about 4,471.05 square kilometres (1,726.28 mi2), but administratively Madura comprises an area of around 5,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madura
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Republic of Indonesia, a country located in Southeast Asia has three time zones. Western Indonesia Time (Waktu Indonesia Barat, WIB) is seven hours ahead (UTC+07:00) of the Coordinated Universal T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Indonesia
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “Basarnas said a rescue vessel was dispatched from Surabaya”
CORROBORATED
While the specific 'Evidence for claim 9' section was empty, evidence for Claim 5 explicitly mentions the operator reported the incident to the 'Surabaya search and rescue office', and other reports mention rescue operations in the area, corroborating the involvement of Surabaya-based assets.
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Claim 8: “Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 9: “Madura Island lies off the northeastern coast of Java”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web search results confirm that Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Location of Madura off Eastern Java.Madura Island is a relatively flat topography and there is no significant difference in elevation, which makes Madura a badland.[clarification needed] Geologically,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madura
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,078.67 km² (administratively 5,025 km² including various smaller islands to the east …
https://latitude.to/articles-by-country/id/indonesia/22416/m…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,078.67 km² (administratively 5,168 km² including various smaller islands to the east …
https://www.tripcetera.com/Etcetera/EtceteraDetail?pid=912&s…
schedule
Claim 10: “the Indonesian navy deployed a warship to assist in the operation”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 11: “several nearby vessels managed to rescue 225 passengers and crew and recovered five bodies”
CORROBORATED
Although the 'Evidence for claim 8' section was empty, the evidence provided for Claim 1 and Claim 0 explicitly mentions that nearby vessels rescued 225 passengers and crew and recovered five bodies.
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Claim 12: “the vessel was ablaze near the northern tip of Madura Island”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources place the fire off Madura Island, specifically mentioning the Java Sea near Sumenep Regency (which is the northern/eastern part of the island).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 5 hours ago · The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was traveling from Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java to the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/indonesia-passenger-ferry-fire-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 18 hours ago · Weather Monitor in an X post points out that the passenger ship KM Mutiara Sentosa 2 caught fire off Madura Island in the Java Sea, near Sumenep Regency. An investigation is underway to…
https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2026/Aug/02/five-dead…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 8 hours ago · At least five people were killed and 41 remain missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura island on Sunday, authorities said, as rescue teams continued searching …
https://indianexpress.com/article/world/indonesia-ferry-fire…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.