Jakarta, Oct 13 (IANS) At least five people have been killed and some others are feared dead as a speed boat caught fire in the water off Indonesia's North Maluku province, officials said.
The accident occurred at 1405 local time when the boat with governor candidate Benny Laos and his supporters on board had been anchoring at a seaport in Taliabu regency and filling fuel before continuing a journey for the campaign, said Abdul Muis Uma Ternate, senior official of the local disaster management and mitigation agency, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Five people have been killed, nine others injured and some other people remain inside the boat as they have been trapped," he told Xinhua.
Video footage received by Xinhua showed that the fire engulfed the whole of the boat, those who remained inside the vessel could have been dead. The official could not give more details on the precise number of those who could not escape and the exact number of people on board.
Head of the Logistic Unit of the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency Yusri Abdul Kasim said that an explosion had occurred just before the fire.
All the wounded persons have been rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, he said.
--IANS
int/rs/kvd
You may also like
PM Kisan Nidhi: If you have still got these two works done, then you can get the stuck 18th installment
Coronation Street's Sarah Platt star Tina O'Brien opens up on 'really hard' exit scenes
Free Ration: Good news! Now you will get free ration till 2028, check whether you will get it or not
FairPoint: Balancing Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah's crown has thorns