A group of about 15 asylum seekers arrived by boat in a remote area of ​​Western Australia, the third such arrival since last November.
The latest group, believed to be Chinese, arrived at the former World War II Truscott air base in the far north of the Kimberley region on Friday afternoon.
WA Police are searching for a man who was on board the ship, in an incident that also prompted an Australian Defense Force operation to secure the scene.
Sky News reported that about 13 Chinese nationals entered the air base, which is now known as Mungalalu Truscott Air Base and is a commercial airport owned by the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, at around 4pm on Friday.
More than 100 Australian Defense Force personnel were at the air base on Saturday afternoon, with staff deploying artillery drones searching for other ships and illegal arrivals.
A group of around 15 asylum seekers arrived by boat in a remote part (pictured) of Western Australia, the third such arrival since last November.
A charter plane reportedly flew from Mungalalu Truscott airbase (pictured) to Perth on Saturday, and it is likely that some or all of the asylum seekers were on board.
Following long-standing practice, the reports have not been confirmed by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil’s office or Australian Border Force spokespeople.
“Australian Border Force does not confirm or comment on operational matters,” a spokesperson said.
On Saturday night, WA Police issued a statement confirming they were searching for a man who “is believed to have become separated from a group of people in the vicinity of Mitchell Plateau”, where the airbase is located.
The statement said that “the ground search operation is in its preliminary stages and is being carried out in an extremely remote area with challenging terrain.”
“WA Police were informed this afternoon that the man may have been a passenger on an unknown vessel carrying a group of people which landed in a remote area of ​​the Kimberley district on Friday 5 April 2024.”
Artillery drones were used Saturday to search the region for any signs of the arrival of a ship or other people.
A charter plane reportedly flew from Mungalalu Truscott airbase to Perth on Saturday, and it is likely that some or all of the asylum seekers were on board.
The latest incident is the third unknown vessel to hit the WA coast in six months.
In February, a boat carrying two groups of 39 Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals was found off the Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome.
The men, dressed in T-shirts and pants, were reportedly in good health. They were given water at the local Beagle Bay store when temperatures reached 37°C.
One of the asylum seekers told the ABC they had spent five days at sea, traveling from Indonesia to Australia.
After dropping them off at the beach, the group walked about 35 kilometers, he said, before being picked up by locals.
He said he had paid $8,000 to travel to Australia from Indonesia and hoped to apply for asylum so his family could join him.
The reported arrivals have not been confirmed by the office of Home Secretary Clare O’Neil (pictured).
ADF troops arrived at the air base at the weekend to secure the area.
The airbase (pictured) is now a commercial airport owned by the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation.
In November last year, Sovereign Borders Commander Rear Admiral Justin Jones confirmed that a group of 12 refugees overwhelmed naval border forces.
The all-male group walked through steep bushland in 35C heat and arrived at the same remote air base where people who arrived on Friday ended up.
Airport staff gave them food and water and described them as “in bad shape.”
In both the November and February incidents, asylum seekers were intercepted by Australian Border Force personnel and taken to an offshore detention center in the island state of Nauru.