Sri Lankans ‘left stranded’ on Australian shores

Fifty asylum seekers were left stranded for five days after their boat hit a reef in the Torres Strait because Australian Customs officials were uncertain how to respond.

The boat is believed to have run aground on Warrior Reef, north-east of Thursday Island, on Saturday night.

It took Customs officials until Wednesday to move the boat people, believed to be Sri Lankans, on to the customs vessel Roebuck Bay.

It’s believed that Customs officials had no idea how to act because of unusual circumstances. The boat was a lawful vessel travelling through international waters when it hit the reef. It had not been heading towards Australia when it was becalmed and authorities did not expect a boatload of asylum seekers.

The confusion was compounded because responsibility for border protection was transferred from defence to Customs late last year and officers were inexperienced.

Torres News editor Mark Bousen said the asylum seekers were finally brought to Horn Island, off Queensland’s coast, yesterday morning. They were transferred to Christmas Island last night to have their claims assessed. Mr. Bousen said Warrior Reef was a lucrative area for crayfishing and people smugglers

may have disguised the boat as a fishing vessel.

He said Customs and immigration officials would not let him speak to the boat people while they were held at a detention centre on Horn Island.

A spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus last night refused to say whether the boat was left stranded.

>> Full Story: Island