2023-04-18 19:23:26
MADRID, 18 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has rescued a group of eleven Indonesian fishermen on a deserted island and confirmed the deaths of nine others after capsizing six days ago after being hit by a cyclone in high seas.
The AMSA has confirmed this Tuesday afternoon (local time) the rescue of the eleven fishermen on Bedwell Island, in the Rowley Shoals Atoll, located more than 300 kilometers northwest of Australia, as reported by the Australian public broadcaster ABC.
During a surveillance flight, the Border Guard sighted people in danger on the aforementioned island, after which the Australian authorities ordered an operation to investigate the situation and, later, sent a rescue helicopter that has taken the fishermen to Broome , in Western Australia.
According to an AMSA spokesman, the survivors have assured that two fishing boats with ten crew members on board each were surprised by a storm six days ago. Reports suggest that one of the boats sank, leaving nine dead and only one survivor who was kept afloat for 30 hours thanks to a jerrycan.
For his part, a spokesman for the Border Guard has reported that all the fishermen are in good health “despite their terrible experience”, and has detailed that the authorities are now working on their repatriation to Indonesia “as soon as may be possible”.
#Indonesian #fishermen #die #rescued #shipwrecking #desert #island #Australia