Three killed, 100-plus injured after fire breaks out on Indonesian boat

[News_Editor]

Three killed, 100-plus injured after fire breaks out on Indonesian boat

2011-09-27 18:13:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

BANJARMASIN, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Three people were killed on Monday and more than 100 others were injured when a passenger boat caught fire on a river in Indonesia, officials said on Tuesday.

The accident began at around 7 a.m. local time when the MV Marine Nusantara collided with the tugboat Pualuat Tiga 330/22 near Kadap Isle in the Barito River, which is located in Indonesia's South Kalimantan province. A total of 443 people were on board the passenger ship.

About half an hour after the initial collision, a fire broke out on board the passenger ship which was traveling from Surabaya, located in East Java, to Banjarmasin in the province of South Kalimantan. Among the 443 passengers were 394 adults, 23 children and 22 babies.

Police said at least three people were killed as a result of the fire while 113 others were injured. Emergency teams transported scores of victims to Soeharsono hospital, where at least 26 were in a serious or critical condition.

A Soeharsono hospital nurse told the Antara news agency that the three fatalities were identified as 53-year-old Abdul Karim of Banjarmasin, 43-year-old Buyah of Banjarmasin and 42-year-old Nurhasanah of Lumajang in East Java Province.

Hours after the accident, emergency crews were still working to extinguish the blaze. In addition to passengers, the passenger ship was also carrying 42 motorcycles, 48 cars and one truck.

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