The World - News from Aug. 17, 1986

The captain of a West German cargo ship denied that he transported 155 Sri Lankans to Canada and set them adrift in lifeboats. Contacted at sea by a West German radio network, Wolfgang Bindel expressed astonishment at accusations that he and his crew pocketed about $400,000 for transporting the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the hold of his 425-ton ship, the Aurigae, in an attempt to smuggle them into Canada. Canada has issued the refugees one-year work permits while it studies their requests for political asylum.