Asylum seekers caught off WA

16 Apr 2009, 7:54 am   -   Source: AAP
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Nearly 50 people on board a boat intercepted off Western Australia are being transferred to an immigration detention centre on Christmas Island.

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Nearly 50 people on board a boat intercepted off Western Australia are being transferred to an immigration detention centre on Christmas Island.

A Customs spokeswoman said no children or babies were on board the boat intercepted two nautical miles west of Ashmore reef late on Wednesday morning.

"They're being taken to Christmas Island - that will take eight or nine days," the spokeswoman told AAP.

It is believed the people on board were from Afghanistan.

The latest interception comes a week after a boat carrying 45 people sailed past a naval vessel to dock at Christmas Island.

In late March, 63 suspected illegal immigrants were detained off Ashmore Island. In the past year, 13 boats carrying 428 asylum seekers, have reached Australia's northern waters.

Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus in a statement said the latest group of suspected asylum seekers to arrive in Australian waters would undergo health, security and identity checks at Christmas Island.

He said the successful interception demonstrated the effectiveness of Border Protection Commands surveillance program.

"Border Protection Commands surveillance operates every day of the year to protect Australia's mainland and includes aerial, sea and land patrols to detect and respond to maritime threats," he said.

"The group will now be transferred to Christmas Island where they will be detained and undergo health, security and other checks to establish their identity and reasons for their voyage." AAP saj/cdh 15-04-09 2259

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