Five people were killed and around 100 people rescued on Sunday after a fire ripped through a boat carrying tourists to islands north of Jakarta. (Source: AP) Five people were killed and around 100 people rescued on Sunday after a fire ripped through a boat carrying tourists to islands north of Jakarta. (Source: AP)

Five people were killed and around 100 people rescued on Sunday after a fire ripped through a boat carrying tourists to islands north of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, authorities said. Along with five fatalities, 17 people were also injured, said Ferry Budiharso, a spokesman for the Thousand Island police, the area where the boat was heading.

The head of Jakarta’s search and rescue agency, Hendra Sudirman, said that 98 people had been rescued.

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The boat, Zahro Express, caught fire shortly after leaving Muara Angke port in North Jakarta early on Sunday due to a short circuit on a power generator on the boat, Budiharso said. Sea accidents are frequent in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago, with vessels often overloaded and having too few life jackets on boat.

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