Bali fast boat fire passengers say they were left to fend for themselves by hapless crew

Passengers from the Bali fast boat that went down in flames last Friday are left frustrated and distraught with how poorly they say the incident is being handled.

A boat from the company JJ Fast Boat was on its way last Friday from Jungut Batu in Nusa Lembongan to Sanur, Bali when the engine reportedly caught fire, forcing passengers and crew to jump overboard into the ocean, with no casualties, but four passengers suffering burn wounds.

Crew members did not do enough to help evacuation, according to accounts from passengers. “Immediately the four members of the crew jumped at sea leaving all passengers behind,” said Malaysian passenger Lay Hoon Lee, 37. “We went through the small windows and jumped on the sea leaving all our belongings behind,” said Lee.

A boat owned by local residents was fortunately able to quickly evacuate the passengers to shore. Varying news reports put the boat 1 to 1.5 km out from the harbor before the engine took fire and Lee recounts it as setting aflame five to seven minutes into the journey.

JJ Fast Boat passengers Lee and her partner Philippe Durant, 56, Belgian, were on a two week holiday in Bali and had just stayed in Nusa Lembongan for the night when their simple 30 minute return trip back to Bali did not go as planned, to say the least. The day before, Durant and Lee had just taken JJ Fast Boat, which apparently was having engine problems as well, though whether it was the same boat is not confirmed.

“The fire started at the back on the engine after the engine stopped (like it did three times on the way from Sanur the day before),” said Durant in an exclusive email to Coconuts Bali.

“Crew members tried to do something and got the engine on fire. The three members around the engine area jumped. The pilot or captain on top, jumped as well. Passengers were left alone and were not given life jackets. There was no fire extinguisher to try to contain fire. We were in the front and saw the fire. Once at sea, crew just shouted ‘jump.'”

RELATED VIDEO shows blazing flames of Bali fast boat fire

Durant commented that despite Lee being able to speak the local language, their account was not taken down by police, and they were just given a very simple one page report. Police “were mostly interested to pose next to us for photos. Supposed to be for evidence but clearly more for their FB,” said Durant.

One of the most upsetting things for the couple was the fast boat company’s apparent insensitivity and inability to communicate with anyone from management. After eventually arriving in Sanur on a different boat that Lee says the company put them on three hours after the accident, Lee, Durant and three other passengers went to the boat company’s office. “The staff just gave us food and drinks and told us that the company had no insurance for passengers belongings and that we simply should be happy to be alive,” Lee said.

“We were only able to speak to basic employees who were very unsupportive. Their comments were ‘Why you complain so much, you are still alive.’ We asked many times to speak to the boss or a managers but the employees kept saying that the boss does not take their calls,” Durant told Coconuts Bali, echoing Lee.

Durant, a photographer, lost all his belongings from the trip, which he estimates at a value of USD3,740 (EUR3,000) and says he will receive no compensation from the fast boat company, which is in line with JJ Fast Boat’s website, on which the company states it doesn’t insure personal belongings. Durant does believe though that the burn victims who he alleges had second and third degree burns are not paying for their treatment.

However, for Durant, it’s not about the money. “My rage is mostly caused by the company, their criminal way of doing business and the terrible attitude towards us victims.”

When contacted by Coconuts Bali, JJ Fast Boat declined to comment.

Durant says his embassy did show some sort of consideration when he contacted it about the incident, but it was not able to do anything. He also says he didn’t have any success when contacting lawyers to take the case on and never heard back from Balinese newspapers that he wanted to share his story with. “I am so sad that Bali media and lawyers contacted did not wish to take on this event,” he said.

On the boat were a reported nine foreign tourists, three local passengers, and four boat crew including the captain. Lee and Durant’s names and ages were inaccurately reported by Antara as Philip Durent, 52 and Lee Lay Hoon, 38. According to Antara, among the other foreign passengers were two Canadians, one Swedish, one Swiss, one German and two Italians.