Suspected refugees intercepted
Australia’s navy detained 20 suspected asylum seekers found on a boat in the Indian Ocean, officials said today.
The vessel was intercepted on Saturday about 24 miles from Ashmore Island off the north-western coast, Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said in a statement. The group was taken to Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean where the government runs an immigration detention camp for health, security and identity checks, Mr Debus said.
The nationalities of the people are not yet known, Mr Debus’ spokeswoman Samantha Wills said.
Most of the refugees who come to Australia travel on cramped, barely seaworthy boats from Indonesia. Many come from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
