Hunt for suspected Sri Lankan asylum boat called off

Australian authorities have abandoned the search for a boat bound for the Cocos Island carrying about 30 people.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority announced it had called off a three-day search for the boat, believed to have sailed direct from Sri Lanka.

The boat, first spotted on Wednesday last week, was seen motoring under its own steam 480km northwest of Cocos Islands and 3500km northwest of Perth. When it failed to arrive at Cocos, Customs and Border Protection sent a RAAF plane to look for it. The boat was not found and the operation referred to AMSA, which began a larger sea and air search on Sunday, scouring the waters northwest of Cocos and Keeling Islands.

The perils faced by asylum-seekers were underscored last week when a boat carrying at least 55 asylum-seekers was lost at sea, with all on board drowned. The bodies of some of those killed were later seen floating in the sea.

Sri Lankan community sources said they knew nothing about the boat and navy operations commander N. Attygalle said he did not believe the missing boat had Sri Lankans on board.

"So far there's no evidence to suggest it's Sri Lankan and if it is we believe it must have left from Indonesia," he said. "If they had left from Sri Lanka, then by this time we should have received some calls (about missing people). But as far as the navy and coastguard are concerned we haven't received any information (about the missing boat)."

However, it would be highly unusual for a boat spotted nearly 500km northwest of Cocos to have sailed from Indonesia.

Sri Lanka's navy and coastguard have been recovering bodies from their own marine disaster last weekend after a storm off the coast of Galle and the capital Colombo in which more than 50 fishermen drowned.

Friday 14 June 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/hunt-for-suspected-sri-lankan-asylum-boat-called-off/story-fn9hm1gu-1226663475666