AUSTRALIA RESCURES 162 FROM ASYLUM SEEKERS BOAT
SYDNEY, Australia - Two Australian navy patrol boats rescued 162 people from an asylum seeker boat in trouble in Indonesian waters and were taking them on Thursday to an immigration detention centre on a remote Australian island territory.Three people required medical attention, including a man who suffered a heart attack and was resuscitated by military personnel, Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Jo Meehan said.
There were no fatalities, unlike recent incidents in which would-be migrants have capsized on their way to Australia.
- Australia and Indonesia agreed to strengthen communication during sea disasters and look into an exchange programme of search and rescue specialists to combat people smuggling. Many asylum seekers travel to Indonesia first before aiming for Australian territory in rickety, crowded fishing boats.
- The rescued wooden asylum seeker boat issued a distress call by satellite phone to Australian authorities on Wednesday morning and said it was taking on water, the maritime authority said.
Its initial location was 80 km southwest of Panaitan, a small island off the western end of the main Java island. By afternoon, it had drifted within 290 km of Christmas Island, Indonesian officials said. The 162, believed to include Indonesian crew as well as asylum seekers, were transferred to the patrol boats late Wednesday "due to concerns about the seaworthiness of the vessel," the maritime authority said. The authority had initially said 164 were aboard.
- The precise problem with the boat was unclear, but Australian Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said that the weather had been "terrible."
- Australian naval officers were transporting the rescued to Christmas Island, where migrants are held in a detention centre while their asylum claims are heard. The territory is nearer to Indonesia than to the Australian mainland and is a popular destination for asylum seekers.
People smugglers often sabotage their own boats so that Australian authorities have to rescue them and shorten their risky journeys. They call Australian authorities because they don't want to be rescued by Indonesia.Three Afghan asylum seekers set fire to their boat in 2009 through fear of being turned back by the Australian navy, causing an explosion that killed five people.
Australia's debate over how to cope with the increasing flow of asylum seekers has intensified since two boats carrying Australia-bound migrants capsized in the last two weeks. More than 90 people are believed to have died when the boats sank in the Indian Ocean.
7 ASYLUM SEEKERS DEAD IN INDONESIA WATER
JAKARTA, Indonesia - The boat, carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, capsized on the way to Kupang in eastern Indonesia, a key transit point for refugees trying to reach Australia, local navy official Dayat Sudrajat told AFP. At least seven asylum seekers drowned and scores more were missing when a wooden boat sunk off Indonesia’s West Java province on Tuesday, an official said.
According to Indonesian report, 40 people were rescued but 7 people; four adults and three children, drowned. The rest are missing.- It is believed, they were headed for Australia and likely the number of fatality will rise as some people were still trapped in the boat.
- The dead and
15 injured have been taken to hospital, according to Samsudin from the local Pangandaran police, while police were questioning some others. - Authorities were still investigating the cause of the accident but it was likely due to overloading and leaks.
- It is reported, strong winds and big waves as high as 2.5 meters could be other factors.
Thousands of asylum seekers head through Southeast Asian countries on their way to Australia every year and many link up with people smugglers in Indonesia for the dangerous voyage.Canberra has failed in its efforts to set up a regional processing center in neighboring countries in an attempt to reduce the flow of asylum seekers heading to Australia.
AUSTRALIAN INTERCEPTS BOAT CARRYING 65 ASYLUM SEEKERS
SYDNEY – The Australian navy has intercepted a suspected people-smuggling boat carrying 65 asylum seekers, officials said, the second vessel stopped in 24 hours off the country's northwest coast.
- The HMAS Maitland intercepted the vessel on Saturday night about three nautical miles from Ashmore Island, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said.
- Earlier Saturday, the same navy patrol boat stopped another boat carrying 83 asylum seekers about 80 nautical miles south of Ashmore Island, an uninhabited Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
- All 148 asylum seekers and seven crew members who were operating the two boats would be transferred to an immigration detention centre on Christmas Island, O'Connor said.
- Some 21 illegal vessels have been stopped this year, three in the past week.
- More than 1,000 would-be refugees have been detained by Australian authorities this year, and the government has warned there are thousands more waiting in neighbouring Indonesia, a key staging post for people smugglers.
- Australia's conservative opposition has blamed the centre-left government for the influx, saying its softening of refugee policies is encouraging people-smugglers.
- But O'Connor said international unrest was to blame for the surge in boat numbers, not government policy.
- "Situations around the world mean that large numbers of displaced persons are looking for settlement in wealthy, developed nations like Australia and can be targeted by, and fall prey to, people smugglers," he said.
- "The Australian government remains vigilant and committed to protecting Australia?s borders."
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