Jakarta – More than 120 people are still missing after a deadly fire on board an Indonesian ferry, the Red Cross has said.
"One hundred and twenty-two people are still reported missing by their families," Heri Asmedi from the Indonesian Red Cross told AFP on Friday.
Sixteen people, including an 11-month-old baby, have been confirmed dead after Thursday's blaze on the Levina I car ferry shortly after it left the Indonesian capital.
"So far 300 people have been saved, 18 of them injured," Asmedi said, adding that three of the injured are still in hospital.
More than 200 passengers and crew leapt into the water as the blaze raged out of control after the ferry left Jakarta's Tanjung Priok harbour. Dozens of survivors suffered burns in the fire, which scorched the superstructure and burnt most of the paint off the Levina I.
The manifest recorded 227 passengers for the voyage to Bangka island off Sumatra, 500 kilometres (310 miles) north of Jakarta, but the ferry was apparently carrying well in excess of 300 people.
"The number of passengers is more than what was declared in the manifest, so we are still checking the exact numbers of people still missing," said national police spokesman Bambang Kuncoko. He said 281 people had been rescued so far. "We are still searching for more survivors," he added.
The Antara news agency and Indonesian television reported that five navy ships were keeping up the search for survivors. The ferry's skipper and four crew members are under police investigation.
Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa was quoted by Antara as saying that the fire appeared to have been sparked by one of the lorries on the ferry's car deck.
A series of Indonesian transport accidents have killed more than 450 people in two months.
Lax enforcement of safety regulations, poor maintenance and a lack of investment in transport infrastructure have been blamed for the air, sea and rail accidents, which have become a regular occurrence.
Ferries are a crucial link between the archipelago nation's 17,000 islands and frequently carry more people than officially acknowledged.