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Two 'missing' Indians agree to return home

Two of the 40 Indian men who disappeared in New Zealand en route to attend the Catholic Church's just concluded week-long World Youth Day (WYD) festivities were yesterday night on a flight back home to India.

  • IANS
  • Published: 00:05 July 21, 2008
  • Gulf News

Sydney: Two of the 40 Indian men who disappeared in New Zealand en route to attend the Catholic Church's just concluded week-long World Youth Day (WYD) festivities were yesterday night on a flight back home to India.

The two men, aged 18 and 20, Saturday evening returned to the home of the Catholic family that had been billeting them in Auckland. The family then contacted the Immigration Service.

The Department of Labour's immigration officials were satisfied that the two were genuine Catholics and had not paid money to anyone to facilitate their travel to New Zealand.

The immigration official who interviewed them said they were "caught up in the excitement of it all" when they decided to stay on in New Zealand.

"They agreed they should return to India. Immigration officials looked after them overnight, took them to a church to watch the televised coverage of the pope's mass and then took them to the Auckland International airport," a Department of Labour spokesperson said.

Since the pair had agreed to leave, their departure was termed voluntary, that is, they have not been "removed or deported" and, as such, will not have anything recorded against them that would preclude future entry into New Zealand, the spokesperson added.

The number of missing Indians increased from 39 to 40 on Friday with the Department of Labour discovering that an Indian man granted visa as part of the group of 220 heading for WYD, but travelling alone, had not left New Zealand as scheduled.

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