What caused the Bali ferry boat explosion and what is a Gili Cat 2?

A BLAST on a Bali fast boat has killed at least three people - injuring at least another 19.

35 passengers were on board when the explosion took place, just after 9:30am local time (2:30am UK time), off the coast of Lombok.

The boat was a Gili Cat 2 - a New Zealand-built vessel which can carry up to 37 people - and was around 200m away from the port at Padang Bai.

The Gili Cat 2 is part of fast boat company Gili Cat's fleet of two boats. On its website, Gili Cat describes itself as 'the premier fast boat to Lombok and Gili Islands' - popular resort islands east of Bali.

The cause of the explosion hasn't been confirmed yet - but local police have stated it appeared to be the result of an engine fault.

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They believe it wasn't a bomb - as Indonesia has a poor maritime safety record, and this isn't the first incident of its kind in the country.

Instead, police think it could have been a short circuit from a battery above the fuel tank, which ultimately caused a explosion.

Local police chief Sugeng Sudarso told AFP news agency: “Based on the testimony [from passengers] and from what I saw on the scene, the explosion came from the fuel tank.

“Above it was a battery, maybe there was a short circuit that affected the fuel tank.”

Last year, a boat transporting 129 people between Lombok and Bali suffered an engine explosion and a fire on board after a fuel line burst, injuring dozens of passengers.