Asylum Seekers Drown In Indian Ocean Off Java
My own recollection of this event, as I live not far from the fishing village of Pangandaran. I remember being woken up at 3.30am in the morning by the sound of a rather large thunderstorm and strong winds. My immediate thought was, this was not a good time to be at sea on a boat.
Seven asylum seekers including two minors drowned last Tuesday in rough seas after the boat they were in capsized off the southern coastline of Pangandaran in Java.
On further reports the boat was believed to be carrying at least fifty asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, many of them women, and was believed to be heading to Christmas Island, north - west of the Australian mainland.
Indonesian police have detained three members from the boat, which was registered in nearby Cilacap district, Central Java, for further questioning. Crew members aboard the boat were each paid $320 to take the group to Australia.The crew members had travelled by plane from Kupang to Jakarta, from where they travelled overland to Cilacap, to transport the illegal immigrants.
Survivors said the Indonesian operator of the boat ignored their pleas not to take them out to sea in a nine metre vessel that did not match what they were promised after they paid up to $7000 each for a passage to Australia.The initial reports from the survivors indicated that the boat capsized after springing a leak. Because it was severely overloaded with people, the hull filled with water quickly and the boat sank.
Thousands of asylum seekers from war - torn countries head through Indonesia on their way to Australia every year, many of them linking up with people smugglers in Indonesia for the dangerous voyage by boat.
The Australian government in Canberra has failed in its efforts to set up a regional processing center in Malaysia in an attempt to reduce the flow of asylum seekers heading to Australia.
Seven asylum seekers including two minors drowned last Tuesday in rough seas after the boat they were in capsized off the southern coastline of Pangandaran in Java.
On further reports the boat was believed to be carrying at least fifty asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, many of them women, and was believed to be heading to Christmas Island, north - west of the Australian mainland.
Indonesian police have detained three members from the boat, which was registered in nearby Cilacap district, Central Java, for further questioning. Crew members aboard the boat were each paid $320 to take the group to Australia.The crew members had travelled by plane from Kupang to Jakarta, from where they travelled overland to Cilacap, to transport the illegal immigrants.
Survivors said the Indonesian operator of the boat ignored their pleas not to take them out to sea in a nine metre vessel that did not match what they were promised after they paid up to $7000 each for a passage to Australia.The initial reports from the survivors indicated that the boat capsized after springing a leak. Because it was severely overloaded with people, the hull filled with water quickly and the boat sank.
Thousands of asylum seekers from war - torn countries head through Indonesia on their way to Australia every year, many of them linking up with people smugglers in Indonesia for the dangerous voyage by boat.
The Australian government in Canberra has failed in its efforts to set up a regional processing center in Malaysia in an attempt to reduce the flow of asylum seekers heading to Australia.
