Lebanese Embassy to Send Home Citizens Saved in Boat Accident

Sukabumi, West Java (Antara) - The Lebanese embassy plans to return its citizens to their homes after their boat capsized in the waters off West Java, drowning 22, as they sailed to Australia to seek asylum. "Right now, we are still collecting information, especially about the Lebanese who survived the incident and are now being housed at Hotel Sarah in Sukabumi," the embassy's secretary, Nunik Novianti, told Antara on Saturday. She said there are 15 Lebanese at the temporary shelter and her office is still completing the paper work needed for their expatriation. However, she did not know the exact date of their deportation or how many Lebanese citizens were on the boat when the incident happened. Besides representatives from the Lebanese embassy, staff from the Iraqi embassy were also visiting citizens. Five survivors are from Iraq, among the 24 being kept in Sukabumi, including five from Africa and one from Jordan. More than one hundred people were reported aboard the fisherman's boat when it capsized in the waters off Cianjur, West Java. Twenty-two people died in the incident. Efforts are still continuing to find possible survivors. (*)