Search continues for 28 missing after ferry fire off Indonesia's Madura island VIDEO

Indonesian rescue teams continued searching on August 3 for 28 people still missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off Madura Island, while authorities confirmed that at least five people had died in the incident.

The KM Mutiara Sentosa ferry, carrying 271 passengers, was travelling from Surabaya in East Java province to Makassar in South Sulawesi when the fire broke out on August 2, authorities said. Madura Island lies off the northeastern coast of Java, Reuters reports.

Arman Asmara Syarifuddin, director of marine and air affairs at East Java Police, said 238 people had been rescued, while 28 remained unaccounted for.

"Police with the rescue agency and the Navy have deployed seven boats and one helicopter to find the missing people," Arman told Reuters.

He said the search operation involves a naval corvette, speedboats and a patrol vessel capable of carrying around 100 passengers.

According to Arman, rescue teams are focusing their efforts on an area extending approximately 16 kilometres east and west of the site of the fire.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

All survivors were evacuated to the Port of Gapura Surya Nusantara in Surabaya on the morning of August 3.

Relatives of passengers gathered at the port awaiting updates on their loved ones. One woman, identified as Ria, said she was still searching for her missing uncle.

"I tried to contact continuously after I got the information but his cellphone was not active, then I contacted his wife to make sure that my uncle was on the ship and it turned out to be true," she said.

"And until now I have not been able to contact and know his condition," she added.

By Sabina Mammadli