Violent stowaway escape bid

Press, 1 February 1986, Page 8

Violent stowaway escape bid

NZPA-AAP Sydney Several Immigration officials were injured when 16 Fijian stowaways tried to escape from the P and O Line’s cruise ship Oriana after she docked in Sydney yesterday. Fourteen of the stowaways, all males aged in their 20s and 30s, pushed and punched their way past P and O security guards and Immigration officials as they ran for the gangplank. They charged down the gangplank, knocking over security guards as they fled the ship about 4 p.m. (New Zealand time). They were recaptured by police, Customs and Immigration officials on the cargo dock as they rah for the shipping «ierminal, about 15 mitres

from the ship. The other two were restrained on board. An Immigration Department spokeswoman said several Immigration officials suffered cuts and bruising. One of the stowaways had knocked on the door of the small wardroom where they were being kept under guard, indicating that he wanted to go to the toilet, she said. When the door was opened the 16 men formed a flying rugby wedge and forced their way out. “They were very violent, and very determined,” she said. Tight security measures round the ship had included guards outside the stowaways’ room, at all exits and on the single

gangplank from the ship. All the other passengers had disembarked within two hours of the Oriana’s docking at 9 a.m. (New Zealand time) yesterday. Eleven of the stowaways were found by ship’s crew on Wednesday night, hiding in the ship’s ventilation shafts. The other five were found close by late on Thursday night, after the ship’s captain ordered another search. A spokeswoman for P and O said the stowaways had been heard by crew members. The 16 men were kept in cells at the Central Police Station yesterday until they left to rejoin the Orianaf which sailed on anothcfr South , Pacific

cruise at 9 p.m. (New Zealand time). They will be guarded by eight New South Wales policemen until they arrive in Suva. The Immigration spokeswoman said no charges could be laid in Sydney, because the men had . not legally entered Australia. However, the P and O spokeswoman indicated that the shipping line was thinking of laying charges under Fijian law, including claiming the cost of the stowaways’ fares, estimated to total about $26,352, and the cost of their police escort. Under the Migration Act, P and O is liable for the costs of returning the stowaways The Immigration •|Departmept i§, alsp_ qxamin-

ing “unsubstantiated allegations” that the stowaways were part of an extensive illegal immigration racket, which brought Fijian labourers to work in Queensland cane fields. Stowaways were allegedly able to join cruise ships in Suva by buying boarding passes from young tourists, who were then able to rejoin the ship by showing their cabin keys. The department spokeswoman said official interviews with the stowaways yesterday would be scrutinised in the light of these allegations, and action would be taken to arrest principals of any immigration ring. “Any necessary action will be taken in Australia to stop this sort of a racket,” she said.