T

he Indonesian Navy has formed an investigation team to probe the cause of a fire that razed the fast missile boat, KRI Rencong-622, on Tuesday.

The fire engulfed the vessel on Tuesday morning while it was on patrol off Sorong, West Papua.

“We hope that the investigation will help us to prevent a similar incident in the future,” Navy spokesman Col. Gig Jonias Mozes Sipasulta said on Wednesday.

KRI Rencong-622 was a fast missile boat in the Mandau class, which was manufactured in South Korea in 1979.

It was named after a traditional Indonesian weapon called a rencong, which originated in Aceh

At the time of the incident, the weather was clear, Gig said.

The vessel was heading out to sea from Sorong harbor when crew members noticed the fire in the gas turbine room.

They tried to extinguish it, but it grew larger, causing a power failure and blackout. After assessing that the fire could spread to the ammunition storage area, the ship’s commander decided that the vessel could not be saved and ordered the crew members to abandon ship. All the 38 Navy personnel on board have been safely evacuated to Sorong, according to Gig.