Death toll climbs to 15 in Indonesia boat sinking: 3 Lankans escape detention

Six illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka and Iran, who are victims of the shipwrecks in waters south of Cianjur, have escape from temporary shelters at Sukabumi in Indonesia.
Chief of Enforcement Sub Sukabumi Immigration Office Irfan Sapar Somantri initial documenting had counted 66 illegal immigrants in total at the shelter in a hotel located at Falkirk village, Sukabumi District, however following a recount the following day only 60 people were present.


Apparently three illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka and three from Iran have escape, he was quoted as saying by Indonesian media reports today.

Officials are unaware how the six illegal immigrants had actually managed to flee the shelter despite the presence of police officers from Sukabumi City. However they suspect that the illegal immigrants may have escaped by climbing a hotel room or pretend to buy something.

“We continue to coordinate with the International Organization for Migration or the International Organization for Migration and the Directorate General of Immigration for the handling of illegal immigrants accommodated in Sukabumi, because there are some of those whose relatives died at the scene of the wreck,” Irfan added.

Meanwhile, the Staff of Foreigners Control Sukabumi Immigration Office, Endang Suryana said they tightened security at the temporary shelter to make sure there are no escapes again, but did not know how long they will be accommodated at the hotel.

“The IOM is already here, but there is no certainty when they moved and whether they will taken to a detention center in Bogor or elsewhere.”

The death toll from the sinking of the overcrowded asylum seeker boat carrying more than 200 people has climbed to 15 after four more bodies were recovered.

The women’s bodies were located late Thursday and early Friday near Ujung Genteng beach, about 31 miles west of where the overcrowded tugboat sank Tuesday off the coast of West Java, said Rochmali, a rescue official from the local search and rescue agency.

The exact number of people missing remains unclear because there was no manifest, but the boat was believed to be carrying about 204 people, of which 189 survived. Most were from Iran, Iraq and Sri Lanka, and bound for Australia. Search operations were set to stretch into today.

Rochmali, who was searching for survivors by helicopter, said they have widened the search area following the current to the west up to 37 miles, but there was no sign of any survivors Friday morning.