At least two people are dead and 14 have been injured after a fast boat exploded en route from East Bali to the Gili Islands.
The Gili Cat 2 fast boat is reported to have held 35 passengers, most of whom were expats and foreign nationals. The boat was on its way to Gili Trawangan when the explosion took place.
One Indonesian person and one Dutch person were killed in the incident, while the media reports the boat carried citizens from Australia, Korea, Britain, France and Germany. Bali police spokesman Made Sudana said the boat experienced an engine malfunction, which caused it to blow. The boat had just pushed off and was only about 200 metres out of Padangbai harbour when it exploded.
Karangasem police chief, Sugeng Sudarso told reporters that victims were being evacuated to a clinic in Manggis Village and that many were injured. The boat has been brought back to shore. Bali Berkarya reports that one of the injured passengers died on the way to the hospital, and more than a dozen are suffering from burns.
In June 2015, a ferry on the way to Bali also exploded, injuring several Australian expats. An engine on the Wahana Gili Ocean 4, which held 129 passengers, exploded between Lombok and Bali.
Featured image via gili-fastboat; video via pqkfw.