Tens of illegal migrants from Afghanistan reportedly escaped to a nearby forest to avoid a police raid in Situbondo on Wednesday.
They are part of 108 migrants the Banyuwangi naval patrol unit detained on the Lempuyangan Sea.
The migrants were reportedly heading for Australia when their boat, KM Sumberjaya IX, ran aground after it hit a coral reef 7 miles off the coast of Situbondo on Monday.
According to naval security commander Budyo Santoso, his unit received a report about a stranded boat at 5 p.m. on Monday.
“However, I wasn’t aware then the boat was carrying illegal migrants from Afghanistan,” Budyo told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
At 6 p.m., local residents were able to rescue all the passengers onboard, including three crew members.
On Tuesday morning, Budyo went to the location and found the passengers were Afghan asylum seekers. The group of 108, are all men aged between 18 and 50 years old. The three crew members the villagers had saved but later escaped, were from Probolinggo, East Java.
Although they claimed they arrived in Indonesia legally, they were not carrying any official documents.
“They said they were unable to save their documents when the boat sank,” said Budyo.
They agreed to be evacuated after negotiation, but refused to be escorted by police, so police
personnel only secured the sea and overland route.
At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Situbondo Police evacuated them by using two fishing boats, but only 32 of the migrants remained, while the rest fled to the forest.
At around 2 p.m., police found two escapees hiding in the jungle and arrested 34 of them.
The Sea Security Unit and Situbondo Police are still scouring the forest to find the remaining suspects.
