23 dead and 17 injured in Indonesia tourist boat fire as rescuers save 100 passengers

A FIRE that ripped through a tourist boat in Indonesia has left 23 people dead and 17 injured.

Around 100 people were rescued by the emergency services after the blaze broke out on the Zahro Express which was carrying tourists to islands north of Jakarta.

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Authorities said the boat caught fire shortly after leaving Muara Angke port, located in the north of the Indonesian capital, early on New Year’s Day.

Local officials believe the fire started because of a short circuit on a power generator on the boat.

Sea accidents are frequent in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of over 15,000 islands, with vessels often overloaded and having too few life jackets on board.

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