Passengers flee into crocodile-infested rainforest after ‘illegal’ boat sinks in Australia
A local tourism operator said he had seen an empty boat that ‘looked like Chinese junk’
An unknown number of people were believed to be on the run in a crocodile-infested region of north-eastern Australia after a fishing boat ran aground on Sunday, authorities and reports said.
An illegal fishing vessel was located in the vicinity of Daintree River, a mangrove estuary in Far North Queensland state, the Home Affairs Department said.
“We can confirm that 11 people have been located. The first priority is to confirm the safety and welfare of the people on the fishing vessel,” the department added in a statement.
The department did not respond to questions of whether the vessel was carrying asylum seekers, illegal migrants or fishermen.
Brisbane’s Courier Mail and commercial television broadcaster Channel Seven said those on board were either asylum seekers or illegal immigrants.
Channel Seven said those found were Indonesian, while The Australian newspaper said they were believed to be Vietnamese, adding that up to 40 people were believed to have been on-board the vessel.
A local tourism operator said he had seen an empty boat that “looked like Chinese junk”.