A ship with about 70 people, suspected to be Sri Lankan asylum seekers, on board was intercepted on Monday (February 4) by the maritime authorities off St. Philippe, southeast of the island of Reunion.
The Imula, an alleged Sri Lankan vessel, was reported Monday at approximately 6:30 pm at the Reunion Regional Operational Monitoring and Rescue Center (Cross).
“No visible signs of damage to the ship are found. About 70 people are on board including 5 children and 8 women,” said the prefecture in a statement.
The nationality of the passengers “is not confirmed at this stage”. The boat is expected Tuesday in the morning at the large seaport of Reunion,” where all passengers will be supported for a health assessment and administrative” adds the prefecture.
If the origin of the ship is confirmed, it will be the sixth time since March 2018 that a Sri Lankan migrant boat is trying to land on the French island of the Indian Ocean, whereas the cases were nonexistent before. Just over 4,000 kilometers separate Sri Lanka’s Reunion.
“There are obviously illegal immigration channels that are at work,” said Frederic Joram, secretary general of the prefecture of Reunion, late December to the local press. On January 17, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, indicated that several ships had been “prevented from leaving Sri Lanka to go to Reunion” and announced a strengthening of the surveillance of Reunion coast.
The last arrival was on December 26, 2018, when a Sri Lankan fishing vessel carrying seven migrants landed in Reunion Island. The occupants were returned to their country shortly thereafter.
-Agencies
