Indonesians caught in Australia

Indonesians caught in Australia

BRISBANE, Australia (AP): Authorities on Friday intercepted an Indonesian fishing boat carrying 11 illegal immigrants on the Australian territory of Christmas Island, police said.

Five of the people on board had evaded authorities by hiding in jungle on the remote Indian Ocean island and were still free late Saturday. Six others had been arrested.

Superintendent Phil Spence of the Australian Federal Police said five of the six were caught when the boat was boarded by police on Friday. Another was caught on a nearby beach with the help of local fishermen.

The five still missing were believed to have been dropped ashore before the boat was intercepted.

Christmas Island is an Australian territory about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) northwest of the nearest Australian state capital, Western Australia's Perth. It lies just 223 miles (360 kilometers) south of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

The search for the five was being hampered by "extremely dense" terrain, Spence said.

"We've actually had other boatloads here in the past, so we're very alert to the incidence of these boats arriving," Spence said.

"We've had nine boats of this or similar variety since I've been here in the last two years."

The boat is the 29th detected this year which together have brought more than 650 illegal immigrants to Australia. Most of the recent boat arrivals have been from the southern Chinese province of Fujian and are victims of people-smuggling gangs known as snake heads, the government says.

Boats from Indonesia usually carry smaller groups, sometimes from Bangladesh.

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said earlier this week Australia was currently holding 1,036 people in its four immigration detention centers.