Australia says it fears 163 boatpeople drowned<\/p>\n
CANBERRA (Reuters): Up to 163 boatpeople en route to Australia
\nfrom Indonesia are believed to have drowned when their two
\nvessels sank in stormy seas, Australian Immigration Minister
\nPhilip Ruddock said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said Australia was investigating reports that a Japanese
\ntanker had picked up four survivors from one boat.<\/p>\n
The vessel was believed to be carrying 87 people when it went
\nmissing between Indonesia's southern islands and Ashmore Islands,
\nan outcrop of reefs about 600 km (370 miles) off Australia's
\nremote northwest.<\/p>\n
\"The weather conditions to the north of Australia have been
\natrocious, and there are reports that another boat, carrying 80
\npassengers, has also disappeared en route,\" Ruddock said in a
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
Tropical Cyclone Sam built in intensity off Australia's
\nnorthwest last week before it crossed land late on Friday.<\/p>\n
While the nationalities of the boatpeople were not known,
\nRuddock said most illegal immigrants who head to Australia via
\nIndonesia were of Middle Eastern origin.<\/p>\n
\"Recently we've seen people from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
\nJordan, Syria and a small number of Palestinians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Many pay people smugglers before making the journey in often
\nunstable craft.<\/p>\n
The boats were believed to have left Indonesia last week and
\nwere expected to have arrived at Ashmore at the weekend. The 240
\nkm sea crossing to Australia from Timor island typically takes
\ntwo to three days.<\/p>\n
Ruddock said he had asked the Immigration Department's Coast
\nWatch service, the Customs service, the navy and the Australian
\nFederal Police to investigate and determine whether there were
\nany further survivors.<\/p>\n
\"We are doing everything in our powers to verify these
\nreports,\" Ruddock said, adding that a search and rescue operation
\nwould be nearly impossible given the scant information.<\/p>\n
\"We're dealing here with a group of people whose intention was
\nto arrive without notice, clandestinely, on vessels that really
\ndon't have the sort of navigational devices and identification
\nequipment that would enable a search and rescue operation to be
\nable to be mounted,\" he said.<\/p>\n
An Australian Defense Force spokesman said he was unaware of
\nthe reports but said the defence force would be unable to mount a
\nsearch outside Australian territorial waters.<\/p>\n
Ruddock said he knew more boatpeople were in Indonesia waiting
\nto attempt the crossing despite the government's campaign to
\ndeter people from making the dangerous journey.<\/p>\n
\"If people are intent on getting into vulnerable vessels in
\ndangerous seas, then there are risks involved,\" he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
More than 250 suspected illegal immigrants were feared drowned
\nin April after three boats went missing between Indonesia and
\nAustralia in stormy weather.<\/p>\n
The government estimates one third of boats attempting to
\nbring people illegally to Australia do not arrive.<\/p>\n
Ruddock said about 1,000 illegal immigrants had arrived by
\nboat since July 1 -- about half the rate of the previous fiscal
\nyear. More than 4,000 boat people arrived illegally in the year
\nto June 30, 2000.<\/p>",
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