"We haven`t been able to evacuate them until now because the river is flooding and there`s no bridge. We have to wait until the river dries up and we can cross it by walking on its bed to reach Naikliu from Kupang," said head of Kupang`s Immigration Office Silvester Sili Laba on Saturday.
He added the East Nusa Tenggara police and International Organization for Migration (IOM) were trying to evacuate the illegal immigrants by land but floods still posed a problems and therefore officials had decided to evacuate them by sea.
"The officials are trying to evacuate them by the sea because the floods are not over yet," he said, adding that the immigrants had been trapped on Naikliu beach for three days since January 27.
The illegal immigrants were said to be on their way to seek asylum in Australia. There were also women and children in the group who had used a motorboat rented from a local fisherman to get to Australia.
According to Sili Laba, the immigrants from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan had been trying to reach Australia illegally and they had made Kupang as the gate to reach Australia. High and strong waves had hit their boat and destroyed it.
Officials in Kupang, he added, would establish contacts with the respective embassies to notify them of the incident. The deportation process for the immigrants would begin after the immigrants had been evacuated to Kupang.(*)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
