An Indonesian passenger ferry caught fire at sea on Sunday, killing at least five people and leaving 41 others unaccounted for, while rescue teams raced to reach survivors stranded in open water. Of the 271 people believed to have been on board, 225 have been rescued, according to the regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency.

The vessel was travelling from Surabaya, a major port city in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi — a route that crosses the Java Sea — when the captain called the ferry company to report the blaze, believed to have broken out between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time. The captain has not been reachable since. Passengers were seen clinging to the ship's bridge and bow as the fire spread, while others jumped overboard in a bid to survive and were picked up by a nearby vessel. Four additional ships were positioned close to the stricken ferry but could not approach due to the risk posed by flammable material still on board. A larger rescue operation dispatched from Surabaya was heading to the site, a journey of roughly six hours.

Muhammad Masyhud, a senior official at Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation, said in a statement that passengers were awaiting evacuation by vessels already at the scene.