(NewsRadio); Another 69 Sri Lankans onboard a fishing vessel have landed at the Reunion Island.
International media reported that the fishing vessel carrying the Lankans reached the prefecture this morning.
The group includes seven women and six children and they were “taken care of by the state services for their health assessment and their placement in the waiting area”.
The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless people said, Sri Lankans will be the subject of interviews with officials to decide on their admission to stay.
A press release said spotted off the coast of the island several days ago, the boat was escorted to the port of Pointe des Galets by the Nautical Gendarmerie and docked around 4:40am local time.
The arrival comes as 46 Sri Lankans were repatriated yesterday, after they reached the island on the 24th of December.
During a press conference, a local official explained that these new migrants would also be sent back to Sri Lanka in a week, “if they are not destined to stay”.
Four vessels from Sri Lanka, with a total of 122 passengers on board, docked on the island in 2022.
Between March 2018 and April 2019, 275 people from Sri Lanka had arrived in Reunion.
Of the 397 migrants, who all applied for asylum, 121 were authorized to remain on French territory.
Nearly 4,000km of ocean separate Reunion from Sri Lanka.
