Indonesian authorities rescued 172 people on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) after a ferry travelling from the tourist island of Bali caught fire in waters off Lombok, officials said, as the search continued for any other missing passengers.
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Of the survivors, one was Australian and the rest were Indonesian. It was unclear how the ferry caught fire, or whether overcrowding was a factor. The vessel was also carrying more people than its manifest showed.
People standing on a rescue boat look at thick smoke rising from the KM Putri Yasmin ferry that caught fire in waters off Lombok, Indonesia on August 12, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters The incident took place in the Lombok Strait at 4:39 a.m. on Wednesday (August 12) (2039 GMT Tuesday), Mr. By Wednesday (August 12) afternoon, one Indonesian had been confirmed dead and 172 people had been evacuated to ports in Bali and Lombok, Hariyadi said. Hariyadi said, adding that more than 200 personnel had been deployed to handle the operation. Passengers rescued from the KM Putri Yasmin ferry that caught fire in waters off Lombok, float in the sea during a rescue operation, in Indonesia on August 12, 2026. Screengrab: Basarnas/Handout via Reuters The incident took place less than a month after another ferry, KM Mutiara Sentosa 2 , caught fire off Madura island, killing five people. Passengers on board the KM Putri Yasmin, a ferry with around 130 people travelling from Bali that caught fire in waters off Lombok, react after being evacuated at Lembar port in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia on August 12, 2026. (Stringer) | Photo Credit: Reuters
The KM Putri Yasmin ferry left Padangbai port in Bali for Lembar port in Lombok in the Province of West Nusa Tenggara, said Muhammad Hariyadi, the head of the local rescue agency. Hariyadi told R euters. “We have deployed some boats to carry out the evacuation and coordinate with other boats surrounding the location of the incident,” Mr.
