KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: An Australian warship came to the

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: An Australian warship came to the assistance of 172 crew members of the Indonesian flagged vessel KM Sumber Lestari which caught fire 60 miles south of Rote Island in the province last Thursday, said a local official.

Marsel Tupen Massan, spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, said here on Saturday that the Indonesian seamen were evacuated to Sand Island in Australia's Northern Territory.

"We are coordinating with Australian authorities in the Northern Territory to repatriate the Indonesian citizens to Kupang," he said, adding that the ship caught fire when fishing in Rote waters. --Antara