How many people were rescued from the ferry fire near Bali?

172 people were rescued, and one person died.

Where exactly did the ferry fire occur?

The fire broke out in the Lombok Strait, on the route between Padangbai port on Bali and Lembar port on Lombok Island.

What hampered the rescue operation?

The operation was hampered by waves reaching up to four meters in height.

Is this the first such accident in Indonesia recently?

No, this is another in a series of incidents. Last month and last week, similar ferry fires occurred with multiple fatalities, and there was also a ferry sinking.

World

Ferry Fire Near Bali: 172 Rescued, One Dead

S.V. · Prije 2h | 2 min

The KM Putri Yasmin ferry caught fire in the Lombok Strait in the early hours of the morning. Waves up to four meters hampered rescue efforts, and this is the second deadly incident involving Indonesian ferries in just a few days.

Summary

The KM Putri Yasmin ferry caught fire on August 12, 2026, in the Lombok Strait en route from Bali to Lombok.
172 people were rescued, and one person died in the fire.
Waves up to four meters hampered the rescue operation involving around 200 people.
This is the fourth major maritime accident in Indonesia in just a few weeks.

Make 5MIN.hr a preferred source

One person has died and 172 have been rescued after the ferry KM Putri Yasmin burst into flames on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, in the Lombok Strait, Indonesian authorities confirmed. The ferry had departed from the port of Padangbai on Bali en route to the port of Lembar on the neighboring island of Lombok, with the fire breaking out about half an hour into the voyage.

According to a Reuters report, passengers were transported to safety at ports on Bali and Lombok. Among those rescued were mostly Indonesian nationals, but also one Australian. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Waves up to four meters hampered rescue

The rescue operation, involving around 200 people, was significantly hampered by waves reaching up to four meters in height. Muhammad Hariyadi, head of the search and rescue agency in Mataram, told Reuters: "We have deployed several evacuation vessels and are coordinating with other vessels in the vicinity of the incident."

Earlier in the operation, Hariyadi told local television Metro TV that they had no reports of casualties at that time, adding: "We approached the ship and confirmed that there are no more passengers on board. Visually, we do not see passengers on the ship."

Uncertainty over exact number of passengers

According to the passenger manifest, the ferry was supposed to be carrying 114 passengers and 17 crew members, reported Brazilian outlet G1 Globo. However, the number of 172 rescued individuals suggests that there were more people on board than officially recorded, a common occurrence in Indonesian ferry operations.

A series of maritime accidents in Indonesia

This incident is part of a worrying series of maritime accidents in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands that relies heavily on ferry transport. Last month, the ferry KM Mutiara Sentosa 2 caught fire near Madura Island, resulting in five deaths. Last week, another ferry fire was reported near Java Island, also with five fatalities, according to Iraqi News.

Just last month, a ferry carrying more than 70 people sank near Selayar Island, south of Sulawesi. In that incident, four bodies were found and 14 people are still missing. Heri Wiyanto, an official at Padangbai port, has not provided further details at this time regarding the cause of the latest fire.