Afghan boat people still adrift on Norwegian ship

More than 400 refugees, mostly Afghan, some suffering from scabies and acute diarrhoea, were still adrift in the sea between Indonesia and Australia last night after both countries refused the ship entry to their ports.

The boat people were rescued by a Norwegian freighter, Tampa, late on Sunday when their own vessel began to sink as they tried to sail from Indonesia to Australia.

There were fears last night for both the health of those on board and the safety of the Norwegian crew after some of the boat people became angry at not being permitted entry into Australia. Some had threatened the ship's crew, while others threatened to throw themselves overboard or harm themselves if they were not allowed to enter Australia.

One of the immigrants is more than seven months' pregnant, while another had suffered a suspected heart attack and a third had reportedly sustained a broken leg.

But Australian Prime Minister John Howard insisted that the would-be immigrants would not be allowed into Australia. He said he hoped his hardline stance would send a clear signal to Asian people-smuggling gangs that Australia is not a soft touch.

The Australian government's tough stance on the 438 boat people comes after a fortnight in which nearly 1,500 boat people arrived illegally at Christmas Island, off the north-west coast of Australia, compared with less than 3,000 arriving in all of last year.

The Australian authorities say they have information that suggests another 2,500 boat people are waiting to set sail from Indonesia to Christmas Island in coming days as the people-smuggling gangs take advantage of calm seas to clear a backlog in human cargo.

The boat people are believed to have left Indonesia on Saturday aboard a rusty ferry manned by Indonesian crew. But the ship soon ran into difficulty and was near sinking when the Norwegian-registered freighter pulled alongside and rescued all on board.

Tampa's ship captain told Australian police by two-way radio yesterday that after he rescued the boat people from their stricken vessel he set sail for Indonesia, which was just four hours away.

However, after he and his crew were threatened by the boat people he succumbed to their wishes to be brought to Australia, turned his vessel around and sailed for Christmas Island, the nearest piece of Australian territory, more than 10 hours' sail away.

However, upon reaching the island yesterday morning he was told by Australian authorities he did not have permission to dock.

"It is our view that as a matter of international law this matter is something that must be resolved between the government of Indonesia and the government of Norway," said Mr Howard.

But within hours the Indonesian government said it would not take the refugees either.

The captain of the Norwegian ship was last night waiting for the his own government to intervene as the boat was anchored 17 nautical miles off Christmas Island.