Indonesia arrests 18 migrants bound for Australia
Sixteen migrants were taken to an immigration detention centre while two others were still being questioned by police
Indonesian police in in Sukabumi stand next to a group of migrants arrested after being found stranded in the waters off Java island when their boat ran out of fuel as they tried to reach Australia, on September 23, 2015. PHOTO: AFP
SUKABUMI:
Indonesian police have arrested 18 migrants who were stranded in the waters off Java island after their boat ran out of fuel as they tried to reach Australia, an official said.
The group from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan had boarded the wooden boat from Pameungpeuk beach in West Java and were heading to Australia’s remote Christmas Island, district immigration chief Filianto Akbar told reporters late Wednesday night.
“They intended to go to Christmas Island but their boat ran out of fuel and drifted near a beach in Cianjur district on Wednesday,” he said. “They asked passing fishermen for help, who then informed the police.”
Sixteen migrants were taken to an immigration detention centre while two others were still being questioned by police, Akbar said, adding that the boat’s captain and two crew members had also been arrested.
Australia’s conservative government introduced hardline immigration policies in 2013 allowing authorities to prevent asylum seekers from attempting to arrive on the mainland.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2015.
Indonesian police have arrested 18 migrants who were stranded in the waters off Java island after their boat ran out of fuel as they tried to reach Australia, an official said.
The group from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan had boarded the wooden boat from Pameungpeuk beach in West Java and were heading to Australia’s remote Christmas Island, district immigration chief Filianto Akbar told reporters late Wednesday night.
“They intended to go to Christmas Island but their boat ran out of fuel and drifted near a beach in Cianjur district on Wednesday,” he said. “They asked passing fishermen for help, who then informed the police.”
Sixteen migrants were taken to an immigration detention centre while two others were still being questioned by police, Akbar said, adding that the boat’s captain and two crew members had also been arrested.
Australia’s conservative government introduced hardline immigration policies in 2013 allowing authorities to prevent asylum seekers from attempting to arrive on the mainland.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2015.