World | India
Bodies of illegal immigrants wash up on Indian islands
Indian officials battled strong winds on Wednesday to retrieve the bodies of at least 10 suspected illegal immigrants that washed ashore on the remote Andaman islands, as a search continued for 300 others missing and feared dead after reportedly jumping from their disabled boat.
- Agencies
- Published: 15:01 December 31, 2008
New Delhi: Indian officials battled strong winds on Wednesday to retrieve the bodies of at least 10 suspected illegal immigrants that washed ashore on the remote Andaman islands, as a search continued for 300 others missing and feared dead after reportedly jumping from their disabled boat.
Coast guard officials discovered the bodies Tuesday but were unable to reach them in a mangrove swamp that is inaccessible by land. Choppy seas and heavy winds hampered an approach by boat, said S.P. Sharma, the coast guard inspector-general on the Indian-ruled islands.
The coast guard rescued 105 people from the rickety wooden boat found drifting off the coast. Two more survivors were found Monday but none since, Sharma said by telephone.
Survivors told Indian authorities that more than 300 people from Bangladesh and Myanmar had jumped from the boat, which had been drifting for 13 days, and tried to swim to shore.
Sharma said they had no independent confirmation of the number of people aboard the boat, but the condition of the rescued survivors was grim.
The overloaded boat, about 20 to 25 metres long, had no covering to protect passengers from the harsh sun and had inadequate food and water, he said.
"They were dehydrated and some were unconscious," Sharma said. "They were in a state of shock and trauma, both mental and physical."
The boat's passengers were apparently heading for Malaysia by way of Thailand, where they were supposed to pick up a guide for the second leg of the journey, Sharma said.
The survivors said they had been detained by Thai authorities for illegally entering Thai waters and then were sent back out to sea. Thai officials have denied turning them back.
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Reader helps police to bust brothel
More than 20 gang members recently arrested from running brothels in Dubai
-
Philippine areas under emergency rule
Toll rises to 46 in brutal kidnap and murder in the south
-
Obama seeks to reassure Singh on ties
Singh is on elaborate state visit that will include talks on US ties with Pakistan
