Jakarta, Feb 22 (Xinhua) An Indonesian ferry with 350 passengers caught fire early Thursday, prompting the military to deploy five warships and two planes for evacuation, according to a navy spokesperson.

Rescuers were racing against time to save lives as the warships could not immediately reach the spot, off Jakarta.

Navy spokesperson Hendra Pakan told Metro TV News that the nearest warship was still over 30 km away from the accident site and it took at least one hour to reach the Levina Ferry bound to Bangka island, near Sumatra.

"Should there be victims, they would be evacuated to Jakarta. It takes three hours (from the site) to the Tanjung Priok Port," he said.

The incident took place only two months after another ferry sank off Central Java, leaving 300 people dead or missing.