Probolinggo, E Java (ANTARA) - All 25 crew members aboard a motor vessel survived after it burst into flames in the waters off Paiton coast in East Java's Probolinggo District on Tuesday evening.
"Based on the information we have received, all the crew members survived (the fire incident), so none of them fell victim to it," Chief of the Water Police Unit at Probolinggo District Police Adjunct Commissioner Slamet Prayitno stated.
All crew members of MV Lautan Papua Indah will be evacuated to the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) post in Paiton, he remarked.
The motor vessel caught fire in the waters near the Paiton special terminal en route from the fishing port in Mayangan Coast, Probolinggo, to the fishing ground in Aru Sea, Arafura Sea, and Timor Sea, he noted.
Spokesman for the Probolinggo Harbormaster's Office and Port Authority Herman Yulianto said his side sent out a distress call upon learning about the fire incident.
"Shortly after receiving a report of the fishing vessel catching fire in the waters, we sent out a distress call to ships passing by the scene to help evacuate the crew members," he remarked.
He said four tugboats -- Banyak, JKW Pelita 1, Intan Megah 20, and Bomas Potenza -- helped evacuate the crew members of the ill-fated vessel and put out the flames.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
