JAKARTA, Indonesia - More than 700 passengers were safely evacuated from an Indonesian ferry after it caught fire today as it neared its destination on the island of Borneo.

Police say the ship had reached an inland river and was close to the town of Samuda when flames broke out on the top passenger deck.

The boat was approaching the port of Sampit in the Mentaya river, around 800 kilometres northeast of Jakarta, when the fire started.

The passengers were mostly workers at oil palm plantations.

The ferry was sailing from Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java, to Central Kalimantan on the Indonesian half of Borneo island with at least 706 passengers and 22 crew.

Boats are a main source of transportation in Indonesia and overcrowding and poorly enforced safety standards cause frequent accidents.

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