JAKARTA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- All 460 people aboard a passenger ferry that caught fire off Indonesia's Java island on Tuesday afternoon were safely evacuated, with 11 requiring medical treatment, the Banten Search and Rescue Agency said on Tuesday night.
The ferry, KMP Batu Mandi, was carrying 420 passengers and 40 crew members when a fire broke out at around 4:15 p.m. local time near Merak port in Banten province, according to officials.
Rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the scene, and all passengers and crew were evacuated by 6:30 p.m. They were transferred to another ferry and Merak port for further assessment, while 11 people were taken to a local hospital in nearby Cilegon for medical treatment.
A total of 18 vessels and supporting units, including rescue boats, tugboats, patrol vessels and fishing boats, were mobilized for the evacuation and firefighting operation.
The agency said the evacuation and firefighting efforts were completed by 9:25 p.m., while rescue personnel remained on standby to monitor the situation.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Merak is a major ferry port connecting Java and Sumatra islands across the Sunda Strait, one of Indonesia's busiest ferry routes. ■