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