Jakarta: Twenty-three people have been killed and at least 17 have been injured after a fire on board a ferry on the way to one of Indonesia's Thousand Islands, a popular tourist getaway for Jakartans, on New Year's Day.

The Zahro Express, which was heading to Tidung Island, caught on fire at 9.42am on January 1 after leaving Muara Angke Port in North Jakarta.

The Zahro Express ablaze at sea about 20 minutes after leaving port in Jakarta on New Year's Day. Credit: Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management/Twitter

Thousand Islands police spokesman Ferry Budiharso said the number of casualties was at 23.

He said three people died at Atma Jaya hospital and another 20 bodies were found on the boat.</s>Jakarta : Twenty-three people have been killed and at least 17 have been injured after a fire on board a ferry on the way to one of Indonesia's Thousand Islands, a popular tourist getaway for Jakartans, on New Year's Day. Another 17 people are still missing after the Zahro Express, which was heading to Tidung Island, caught on fire, according to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Age.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia — At least 23 people were killed and 17 others were missing after a ferry caught fire Sunday off the coast of Indonesia’s capital, officials said.

The vessel was carrying more than 230 people from Jakarta’s port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, when it caught fire, officials said. Most of the passengers were Indonesians celebrating the New Year’s holiday, according to local media reports.

Seply Madreta, an official from the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the fire gutted around half the vessel. He said that about 22 injured victims were rushed to hospitals, and that 23 bodies had been recovered.

Twenty bodies that were found inside the vessel were burned beyond recognition and were transferred to a police hospital for identification, said Col. Umar Shahab of the Jakarta police’s health department.

A search involving around 10 ships was underway to find those who were missing, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.

Witnesses told MetroTV that the fire broke out about 15 minutes after the ferry left Muara Angke.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Some passengers told local media that they first saw smoke coming from the ferry’s engine.

TV footage showed people in the water with the ferry in flames in the background. A woman in the water can be heard screaming “Ya Allah! Ya Allah!” or “Oh God! Oh God!”

Another woman told the TV station that she and other passengers were rescued by a small boat.

Despite officials saying that more than 230 people were aboard the ferry, the manifest showed that only 100 were registered as passengers, along with six crewmen, said Denny Wahyu Haryanto, head of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency. He said the vessel’s captain was under police investigation over the incident.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic nation, with more than 17,000 islands. Many accidents are blamed on lax regulation of boat services.</s>Indonesian officials say at least 23 killed after ferry catches fire near the capital.</s>At least 23 people were killed and 17 others were missing after a ferry caught fire Sunday off the coast of Indonesia’s capital, officials said.

The vessel was carrying more than 230 people from Jakarta’s port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, when it caught fire, officials said. Most of the passengers were Indonesians celebrating the New Year’s holiday, according to local media reports.

Seply Madreta, an official from the local Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the fire gutted around half the ship. He said that about 22 injured victims were rushed to hospitals, and that 23 bodies had been recovered.

A search involving around 10 ships was underway to find those who were missing, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

Witnesses told MetroTV that the fire broke out about 15 minutes after the ship left Muara Angke.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Some passengers told local media that they first saw smoke coming from the ferry’s engine.

TV footage showed people in the water with the ferry in flames in the background. A woman in the water can be heard screaming “Ya Allah! Ya Allah!” or “Oh God! Oh God!”

Another woman told the TV station that she and other passengers were rescued by a small boat.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic nation, with more than 17,000 islands. Many accidents are blamed on lax regulation of boat services.</s>At least 23 people were killed when a ferry caught fire near Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Sunday morning. The local police said more than 17 people were injured in the incident.

The ferry was on its way from Jakarta’s port of Muara Angke to Tidung Island, a popular holiday destination. Investigators have yet to confirm the number of people on board the ferry. Local police spokesperson Ferry Budiharso said the fire started from a short circuit in the power generator of the ferry, Zahro Express.

Spokesperson of the country’s national disaster management agency said that 194 people have been rescued. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the search and rescue operations were under way, reported Al Jazeera. He said the passenger vessel had only 100 life jackets on board. The ferry was carrying around 250 people – way more than its capacity.</s>At least 23 people were killed and 17 others were missing after a ferry caught fire off the coast of Indonesia's capital, officials said.

Rescuers search for victims from the wreckage of a ferry that caught fire off the coast of Jakarta after it was docked at Muara Angke Port in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The vessel was carrying more than 230 people from Jakarta's port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, when it caught fire, officials said. Most of the passengers were Indonesians celebrating the New Year's holiday, according to local media reports.

Seply Madreta, an official from the local Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the fire gutted around half the ship. He said that about 22 injured victims were rushed to hospitals, and that 23 bodies had been recovered.

A search involving around 10 ships was underway to find those who were missing, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement. New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says there is no indication at this stage that any Kiwis have been caught up in the tragedy.

Witnesses told MetroTV that the fire broke out about 15 minutes after the ship left Muara Angke.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Some passengers told local media that they first saw smoke coming from the ferry's engine.

TV footage showed people in the water with the ferry in flames in the background. A woman in the water can be heard screaming "Ya Allah! Ya Allah!" or "Oh God! Oh God!"

Another woman told the TV station that she and other passengers were rescued by a small boat.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, with more than 17,000 islands. Many accidents are blamed on lax regulation of boat services.</s>An Indonesian official says at least 23 people were killed after a ferry caught fire near the capital, Jakarta.

The vessel was carrying about 100 people from Jakarta’a port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain located off of Jakarta, when it caught fire Sunday.

Seply Madreto, an official from the local Disaster Mitigation Agency, told MetroTV that more than 10 injured victims were rushed to hospitals.

He said the fire gutted through about half of the ship.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic nation, where regulation of boat services is often lax.</s>At least 23 people have been killed and 17 others are missing after a ferry caught fire off the coast of Indonesia's capital, officials said.

The vessel was carrying more than 230 people from Jakarta's port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, when it caught fire, officials said.

Seply Madreto, an official with the local Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the fire gutted about half of the ship. He added that about 22 injured people were taken to hospital.

Rescuers search for victims from the wreckage of a ferry that caught fire off the coast of Jakarta after it was docked at Muara Angke Port in Jakarta, Indonesia today. Picture: AP

A search involving around 10 ships was launched to find those still missing, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

Witnesses told MetroTV that the fire broke out about 15 minutes after the ship left Muara Angke.

The cause of the fire is not yet clear. Some passengers told local media they first saw smoke coming from the ferry's engine.

TV footage showed people in the water with the ferry in flames in the background.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands. Many accidents are blamed on lax regulation of boat services.</s>At least 23 people were killed and 17 others were missing after a ferry caught fire Sunday off the coast of Indonesia's capital, officials said. The vessel was carrying more than 230 people from Jakarta's port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, when it caught fire, officials said.

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A ferry catches fire en route to Indonesia's Thousand Islands, killing at least 23 people and injuring 17 others.