13 illegal immigrants found in Nusa Barong
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 12/19/2011 1:13 PM
Thirteen suspected illegal immigrants from the Middle East have been found in a weak condition on Nusa Barong island, Jember, East Java.
“We’ve just received news that a vessel transporting coal from Banjarmasin to Cilacap found 13 foreigners,” head of the National Search and Rescue Agency 3 in Surabaya, Sutrisno, told tempo.co on Monday.
He said that it was likely that the foreigners were among about 250 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia whose boat sunk on Saturday in Prigi waters, East Java. The boat, which was licensed to carry a maximum of 100 people, was on its way to Christmas Island in Australia.
Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing, with only 34 of the passengers currently accounted for.
