Australia intercepts 2nd asylum boat in one week
A second refugee vessel arrived in Australian water in one week has been intercepted north of Christmas Island Saturday, federal Home Affairs Minister Brendan O 'Connor confirmed.
O'Connor said the boat was first detected by the air force north-west of the Australian coastline and intercepted by patrol boat HMAS Albany on Saturday.
"Initial indications suggest that there are 70 passengers and two crew on board," O'Connor said in a statement released on Saturday, adding that the nationality of the asylum seekers are yet to be known, and they will be taken to the Christmas Island detention center for initial checks.
Earlier on Wednesday, a boat carrying 75 passengers arrived at Christmas Island, taking over 145 asylum seekers arrived in Australia so far in this week.
Saturday's interception is the fifth boat intercepted since the High Court in August ruled the federal government's Malaysia people swap deal invalid. The latest arrival brought together 728 people and 24 crews arrived since the High Court ruling.
Editor: Yamei Wang
English.news.cn 2011-10-01 15:08:25 FeedbackPrintRSS
CANBERRA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua)
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