118 Flee Cambodia, Land in Australia
A group of 118 refugees claiming to have fled Cambodia landed by boat Monday in western Australia, the second such group in five months to claim asylum in Australia.
The refugees, aged from 5 months to 78 years, were spotted over the weekend in a 65-foot fishing boat 120 miles northwest of Broome in western Australia. They were taken to Broome for questioning Monday, immigration officials said.
Generally healthy, they said they left the Cambodian port of Komponsong on March 11, picking up supplies on the way in Singapore and Java.
On Nov. 28 last year, 28 “boat people” arrived in Broome, claiming to have come from Cambodia. They remain in detention in Sydney while officials check their stories.
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