Asylum boat 'hijackers' sent back

27 October 2012 04:47 am

Fourteen asylum seekers who allegedly hijacked a ship off the Sri Lankan coast in a bid to reach Australia have been found and sent home, the Department of Immigration Australia says.

The group of Sri Lankan nationals was detected and intercepted northwest of the Cocos Islands by Australian authorities late on Thursday.
There were 15 people on board the vessel Chejan, which was involved in the allegedly hijacking incident on October 13.
Fourteen of them were returned to Sri Lanka from the Cocos Islands on a charter flight on Saturday afternoon.

One of the boat people could not be sent home on Saturday, but the department has indicated he will be deported in coming days.
The Sri Lankans held no visas and made no claims for protection, nor did they raise any issues that engaged Australia's international obligations, the department said.

The boat had been missing until it was intercepted late on Thursday north-west of the Cocos Islands by ACV Hervey Bay.(AAP)