JAKARTA, 18 May 2008 - An Indonesian TV station says an inter-island ferry carrying more than 700 passengers and crew has caught fire on the Mentaya river on Borneo island. District chief Wahyudi Anwar told MetroTV that rescuers have pulled 10 survivors from a river outside the town of Sampit, around 800 kilometers northeast of the capital Jakarta. The status of other passengers was not immediately clear.

Anwar says the vessel was carrying 706 passengers and 22 crew. The boat caught fire around 14:00 local time (GMT+8) while it was on route from Surabaya on the island of Java to Sampit on the island of Borneo. Boats are a main source of transportation in Indonesia. Overcrowding and poorly enforced safety standards cause frequent accidents.

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