89 boat people land in Darwin

89 boat people land in Darwin

SYDNEY (Reuter): A vessel carrying 89 boat people believed to be from China and 12 Indonesian fishing boats were met by Australian customs officials yesterday after being discovered in waters outside the northern city of Darwin.

The boat people were spotted on Saturday about 315 kilometers northwest of Darwin by a surveillance airplane and reached Darwin yesterday afternoon, Australian Customs Service spokesman Brian Flanagan said.

He said the wooden vessel was carrying 29 children, 20 women and 40 men. The boat had been stranded in the East Timorese capital of Dili last week and the boat people were due to be interviewed in Darwin last night.

"Yesterday a customs vessel left Darwin with immigration, quarantine, interpreters and a medical person on board and they took over the monitoring of the vessel early this morning," Flanagan told Reuters.

Thirteen boatloads of Asians have arrived in Australia so far this year, compared with three in 1993 and five in 1992. Before the latest arrivals, more than 1,000 boat people had landed since November 1989.

The 12 Indonesian fishing boats discovered in Australia's fishing zone were escorted by navy officials into Darwin yesterday. They brought the number of foreign fishing boats caught in Australian waters since early September to more than 100.

As of mid-November, there were 43 boats moored in Darwin, mostly fishing vessels awaiting prosecution on illegal fishing charges.