74 migrants missing as ship sinks
(UKPA) – Jul 8, 2009

A ship carrying 74 people, most of them Afghan migrants, has sunk in eastern Indonesian waters, police said.

Jusman, a police officer in Labuhanbajo, Flores island, said he received reports that the ship sank off nearby Komodo island.

Details were unclear, but rescue teams failed to find a trace of the vessel, which was reported missing on Tuesday night, said Jusman, who uses a single name.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, is increasingly being used as a transit point for illegal migrants from war-ravaged countries looking for a better life in Australia.

Several Afghan migrants died earlier this year after escaping detention and fleeing with human traffickers on a speedboat boat that capsized.

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