The government today ordered a full inquiry into a ferry fire that killed four people and forced terrified survivors to hurl their children into the sea as the cabin filled with smoke.

The "Seagull Express", with at least 100 passengers aboard, was travelling to the tourist island of Pulau Tioman from the east coast port of Mersing on Saturday, the official Bernama news agency said.

Fire broke out seven nautical miles into its journey, triggering a distress call which drew fishing and tourist boats which managed to pluck 94 people from the sea, Mersing police spokesman Harun Arshad said.

Bernama on Sunday quoted relatives as saying two more passengers were still missing, and police said they were still trying to determine the exact number on board.

Survivors accused the crew of abandoning them when the passenger cabin filled with thick, black smoke, and failing to assist the elderly and children on board.

"They were irresponsible. They left us stranded on the burning ferry without rendering any help and jumped into the sea to save themselves," said Ng Li Peng, who had been travelling with her husband and two children aged 13 and 10.

The 41-year-old told Bernama from Mersing Hospital that the fire had spread quickly, with the passenger cabin filled with smoke within minutes, forcing passengers to take their chances in the sea without life jackets.

"It was so dark and we were blinded. I grabbed my two children and hurled them into the sea and both my husband and I jumped into the sea as well. We would have perished if we had remained in the ferry. We do not know how to swim but had to jump into the sea as we had no other choice," she said.

Engine trouble

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said an investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the fire, whether the operator had followed safety standards and whether the crew had done its best to save passengers.

Najib told Bernama that the government took the incident very seriously.

Harun said the bodies of four victims, all Malaysians, were retrieved from the sea. Four more people were injured, including three women and a boy from Kuala Lumpur.

The police spokesman said initial investigations indicated engine trouble was the cause of the fire but that police were questioning survivors to find out how it started and how many passengers were on board.

A Marine Department official told Bernama the ferry's permit to transport passengers had expired in December last year and not been renewed.

Another passenger, Sybil Lucas, 30, said the ferry was old and no longer suitable to transport passengers.

"During the trip, the engine was giving off a strange noise. The body of the ferry was in a bad condition. I do not understand why the vessel was still in service," she said.