Jakarta – A boat carrying mostly European tourists exploded off Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Thursday, killing two women and injuring more than a dozen others, police said.
The Gili Cat 2 was travelling from Padangbai in eastern Bali to Gili Trawangan islet with 35 people on board when its fuel tank caught fire and blew up a few minutes after it left the harbour, Karangasem district police chief Sugeng Sudarso said.
One of the victims was an Austrian national who succumbed to her injuries, while the nationality of the other remained unknown, he said.
Two Germans were among the injured, Germany’s Foreign Ministry said.
Sudarso denied initial media reports that the other fatality was a German person.
The injured have been taken to hospital for treatment, he said.
“Some of them have serious injuries so they have not been able to provide information yet,” he said.
The passengers on the boat included nine British nationals, six Italians, five from France, four from Portugal, four Austrians and two Germans.
The trip from Padangbai on Bali to Gili Trawangan takes one and a half hours by a fast boat.
Gili Trawangan, one of three tourist islets off the resort island of Lombok, is known for the clear blue water off its beaches and clean air as motor vehicles are banned there.
-dpa
