RRI.CO.ID, Sampang - A total of 234 passengers aboard the MV Mutiara Sentosa II, which caught fire on Sunday, 2 August 2026, in waters off Madura Island, East Java, were successfully evacuated. A joint search and rescue (SAR) team evacuated them from Sunday night through the early hours of Monday, 3 August 2026, local time.

According to the Surabaya SAR Office on Monday, 229 people were rescued, while five people lost their lives. The evacuation was carried out through two ports: Port of Tanjung Perak in Surabaya and Port of Kalianget in Sumenep Regency.

Local SAR Mission Coordinator Nanang Sigit said that the team's top priority was evacuating the survivors so that they could receive immediate medical treatment and have their identities recorded.

"We first brought the 111 survivors from the ship. They were then taken to the Gapura Surya Nusantara Passenger Terminal (at Port of Tanjung Perak) for data collection by joint rescue teams," Nanang said.

Some of the survivors were treated at several hospitals. Some were treated at the National Police-managed Bhayangkara H.S. Samsoeri Mertojoso Hospital in Surabaya, while others were treated at the Garam Hospital in Sumenep.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, in a statement on Sunday, urged authorities to determine the cause of the fire as soon as possible.

Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi also inspected the evacuation process of MV Mutiara Sentosa II passengers on Sunday night. In a recording received by RRI Voice of Indonesia on Monday, Minister Dudy ensured that the evacuation process went smoothly.

"I appreciate the proactive steps taken by the Regents of Sumenep, Bangkalan, Sampang, and Pamekasan, who have prepared personnel, health facilities, and teams in their respective waters to assist passengers who may have been swept away. This kind of inter-regional synergy is crucial in expediting rescue efforts and providing a sense of security to the public," said the minister, as quoted from the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation website on Monday.