Biting Trousers: Saleh's Act of Saving a Ferry Fire Victim

Muhammad Saleh (44), a resident of Punagaya, Jeneponto, South Sulawesi, shared his story after surviving the fire aboard KMP Mutiara Sentosa II in the waters north of Sumenep, Madura, on Sunday (2/8). He helped other victims escape in the middle of the sea.

Saleh was a worker tasked with escorting a shipment of 17 horses, the vessel’s cargo, from Surabaya to Makassar. When the incident occurred, he was cutting grass for horse feed inside the ship. Suddenly, the driver who was with him shouted to warn of a fire.

“So I was cutting grass and then smoke came. My driver said, ‘fire!’” said Saleh, met at the integrated post at the Gapura Surya Nusantara (GSN) Terminal of Tanjung Perak Port, Surabaya, on Tuesday (4/8).

After hearing his driver’s shouts, Saleh struggled to find a way out because thick black smoke blocked his path. He then used a gap in a window to catch his breath before finally being able to run up to the deck.

“I wanted to run up but couldn’t because there was so much smoke, black smoke. I couldn’t see. In the end I went through the window to breathe. There was wind there, so when the smoke was dense, then I ran up,” he said.

Upon reaching the deck, Saleh said he could not find a lifebuoy and only managed to grab an empty jerrycan, which he planned to use as a floating aid. But someone then gave him a life jacket.

“In the end I ran and got no lifebuoy. There was a jerrycan there, I took it. Blue in colour. I took the jerrycan, and when I got up top someone gave me a life jacket,” he said.

Amid the panic, he witnessed conditions on the ship that made passengers hesitate to jump, as the vessel was high above the sea’s surface while continuing to move forward.

“So we wanted to jump but we hesitated too. Because it was still so high,” he said.

Saleh took up position at the front of the ship, near the anchor rope and a hose. Both objects gradually caught fire, making his position increasingly hot as the flames drew closer.

“At the very front where the anchor is, the anchor rope on the right side caught fire, and I hadn’t jumped yet. Then the hose caught fire and I still hadn’t jumped,” he said.

The situation cornered Saleh and the other passengers further. Eventually they panicked, and he was pushed by someone else and plunged into the sea.

“In the end I was pushed by someone and I fell,” he said.

In the middle of the sea, Saleh then met two other passengers, whom he described as goat traders. They had previously chatted on board before the incident.

“I swam about 5 or 10 metres, and I met these goat traders,” he said.

In the water, the goat trader and his son begged Saleh for help, as they could not swim and were unable to hold on. He took the initiative to assist them.

“He said to me, ‘Sir, please help me, sir, my father.’ Because I was alone. So I took his father, and he held on,” he said, pointing to his shoulder.

But the situation made it difficult for him to move. Saleh asked the victims he was rescuing to hold on to his shirt. He then also untied the trousers he had fastened around his neck to use as an additional handhold.

“Then I said, ‘Sir, don’t hold on there or I’ll sink, sink even more. If you want, hold my shirt,’” he said.

“I felt, while I was swimming, I said, ‘Sir, wait a moment, sir. We still have a life jacket, let me first undo these trousers around my neck that I had tied.’ So I bit the trousers, then I said, ‘hold on to this, sir. I’ll swim soon,’” he said.

Because he was biting the trousers that served as an aid for the victims he was rescuing, Saleh swam through waves that repeatedly forced him to swallow seawater.

“Yes. When we go up, the waves mean you inevitably drink water, and because I was biting the trousers, water kept entering. Because I was rescuing people,” he said.

Upon arriving at the rescue ship, the goat trader he had helped immediately suffered nausea and vomiting. Meanwhile, Saleh expressed his gratitude at having survived.

Beyond the casualties and injuries, the fire incident also caused material losses for Saleh. The 17 horses he was escorting failed to be delivered to Makassar.

“The cargo was 17 horses. The loss was Rp640 million according to the invoice,” Saleh concluded.

Saleh was one of 238 passengers of KMP Mutiara Sentosa II who were evacuated. However, of that number, five people were declared dead.