Jakarta, Aug. 3 -- Indonesia's Transportation Ministry has launched an investigation to determine the cause of a fire that broke out aboard the passenger ferry KM Mutiara Sentosa II off Sumenep District, East Java, over the weekend.

Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi confirmed that official inquiries are underway while relevant authorities monitored ongoing rescue, recovery, and passenger care operations following the Sunday morning (August 2) disaster.

"The investigation will be carried out immediately to determine the cause of the fire on the ship," Dudy said in a written statement in Jakarta on Monday.

The vessel caught fire between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. West Indonesian Time on Sunday in the Java Sea, north of Sumenep.

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