Police continue search for missing Afghans

Yemris Fointuna ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Kupang   |  Fri, 07/10/2009 2:54 PM  |  The Archipelago

The West Manggarai Water Police continued their search Thursday for 74 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan who were reported missing early Wednesday morning after their boat sank in the Sape Strait, East Nusa Tenggara.

At the time of printing, however, none of the would-be immigrants, believed to have been heading for Australia, have been found. The search has so far focused on the Komodo and Baba Buluni Islands and the waters around the Komodo National Park.

Head of the West Manggarai Police Operation Division Adj. Comr. Viktor Jemadu said his office does not yet know the cause of the accident or the number of people involved.

"We don't even known the identity of the vessel. The whereabouts of the passengers are as well a mystery, making the search even more difficult to conduct," Viktor said.

He added that two water police patrol ships, another vessel owned by the Komodo National Park and a number of boats belonging to local fishermen were deployed on the second day of the search.

"We do hope we will find something," he said.

Head of the Tenau Port Administration in Kupang, Piter Fina, confirmed the accident. "We received the information from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta."

He added the embassy had informed his office that two crew members had survived the accident but their whereabouts was unclear.

The Afghans on board, most of them reportedly women and children, were not wearing life jackets when the vessel sank.

The boat reported sank within the range of coordinates between 85 S 02 and 119 E 16 151.

Piter also said the Search and Rescue (SAR) team - which was made up of officers from the water police, Komodo National Park security patrol and Navy as well as local fishermen - had searched Komodo Island waters and their surroundings as well as along the Sape Strait.

"However, no sign of any of the victims has been found as of this afternoon," he said Thursday.

This is the third accident involving a boat carrying illegal immigrants through NTT waters in the past six months.

In June, a boat carrying 71 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan ran into trouble south of Sumba Island; all passengers survived this accident.

In January, a boat carrying 18 illegal immigrants who had just escaped from a detention center in Kupang, sank in the Rote Strait, killing four of them. Nine survived and five were declared missing. Their bodies have never been found.

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