"All passengers registered in the manifest of the KM Barcelona ship have been found, both those who survived and those who died," the ministry's Director General of Sea Transportation, Muhammad Masyhud, stated in Jakarta on Monday.
However, Masyhud said he could not yet disclose detailed information on casualties, as data collection is still underway.
"Detailed information will be made public once data collection is concluded," Masyhud remarked.
The official remarked that all surviving passengers were evacuated to Manado City, while the bodies of the deceased were taken to a police hospital.
He noted that the remains of the burned KM Barcelona are still afloat, with the fire successfully extinguished by the ministry's local maritime and voyage monitoring office (PLP).
"The vessel remains under the oversight of a patrol team from the Bitung PLP," he remarked.
He also affirmed the government's commitment to providing proper services and treatment to all affected by the incident.
Masyhud explained that KM Barcelona was initially scheduled to depart from the Talaud Islands District to Manado on Saturday (July 19) at 6 p.m. local time, but the trip was postponed to the next day due to bad weather.
"Soon after receiving a report of the incident, our team deployed the KN.P 331 vessel of the Bitung PLP for evacuation," he revealed.
The Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL), the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla), and the Manado Search and Rescue (SAR) Agency also deployed their ships to evacuate passengers.
Separately, Manado SAR Agency's Public Relations Officer, Nuriadin Gumeleng, reported that a total of 571 people were aboard the KM Barcelona, with three from the Talaud Islands confirmed dead.
He added that reports indicate the total number of fatalities could be five, but authorities have yet to confirm the veracity of this information.
Translator: Muhammad H, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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