35 Iranian migrants stranded in NTT
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang | Archipelago | Fri, October 05 2012, 2:47 PM
Thirty-five migrants from Iran en route to Australia were stranded in Sabu Raijua, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Thursday night after their boat broke down.
Sabu Raijua Naval Base commanding officer Second Lieutenant Tendri Adrian said that the 35 Iranians left East Java on Sunday. “Their boat was swept along by the tide when its engines stopped working,” he said on Friday.
The Navy rescued all 22 men, nine women and four children aboard before turning them over to the police and sent them to the police.
NTT Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Febrin Ida Pello said that the West Sabu Police would accommodate the migrants while they waited for a boat to take them to Kupang.
Febrin said that more than 1,000 migrants, mostly from Middle Eastern countries, passed through NTT’s waters each year on the way to Australia. (cor/iwa)
