More than 700 passengers escaped from an Indonesian ferry that caught fire today shortly before reaching its destination on Borneo island, officials said.

An inter-island ferry carrying more than 700 passengers and crew caught fire today as it neared port on the island of Borneo, an Indonesian television channel reported.

Hundreds of passengers are feared dead today after an Indonesian ferry carrying around 850 people sank in a storm off Central Java.

Armed gangs of indigenous Dayaks have broadened their campaign of terror in Borneo, forcing thousands to flee.

More than 100 people have died in inter-communal violence in the Indonesian part of Borneo.