Boat Load of 26 Illegal Immigrants Cast Ashore in Kebumen

Cilacap, C Java (Antara) - A boat load of 26 people were stranded after their boat was cast shore on the coast of the Kebumen district in Central Java province. The boat people were from Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan the Cilacap post of the National Search and Rescue agency (Basarnas) stated on Monday. Tri Joko Priyono, a Basarnas coordinator, said based on a report from the navy the boat people were found stranded at the Indian Ocean coast of Kebumen on Monday afternoon. Tri said the Navy saw a boat stranded on the coast two kilometers east of the Argopeni of Kebumen. "But when a rescue team from Cilacap arrived at the location, at 14.03 local time, the boat was empty," Tri said, adding they were all out of the boat on the coast. Someone had led the illegal immigrants to that location and now the law authorities are hunting for him, he said. The boat people are all men from Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates, he said. They said they wanted to go to Australia but they had been rejected by the Australian government. "They were sent back to the sea after providing them with facilities such as lifeboat and TV set," Tri said. One of the boat people said he was ill after four days without food. Tri said the illegal immigrants would be sent to a provisional accommodation facility at the Cilacap Immigration office. (*)