Fire on the ferry (Photo: AP)

In Indonesia, the passenger ferry KM Barcelona 5 caught fire at sea. Rescuers evacuated more than 560 people, three died, reports AR.

According to First Admiral Frankie Pasun Sihombing, chief of the Manado Naval Base, the ferry KM Barcelona 5 caught fire at noon on July 22 as it was en route to Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, from the port of Melonguan in the Talaud Islands in the same province.

According to Sihombing, the fire, which started at the stern of the ferry, was extinguished in an hour.

Initially, only 280 passengers and 15 crew members were registered on the ferry, but the national rescue agency confirmed that 568 people were rescued and three bodies were found, including a pregnant woman.

The ferry has a capacity of 600 people. The search and rescue operation is currently ongoing.