16 Lebanese return from Indonesia after failed asylum seeking trip

Sixteen Lebanese survivors of the boat accident in Indonesia arrived Tuesday evening in Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport, accompanied by the Lebanese official delegation that traveled to Jakarta to facilitate their return. Head of the delegation, State Minister Ahmed Karami, told reporters at the airport "We went to Jakarta to follow up on the boat issue. We addressed the issue of the six Lebanese detainees in Jakarta and 10 others who were staying illegally there. They all preferred to return with us". As for the bodies of the victims, Karami said "We won't be able to know anything about the missing bodies before the end of this month." The National News Agency (NNA) identified the survivors as Ali Hasan, Mohammed Abdul Latif, Marj Mheish, Abdul Rahman Issa, Khodr Darwish, Nasseredine al-Youssef, Mohammed Darwish, Abdullah Hadid, Aya Hasan, Rima Taleb, Ayda Awwad, Douaa Hasan, Musaab al-Kik, Khaled Taleb, Jihad Aryamik and Aysha Taleb. It said the High Relief Commission paid the fines slapped by Indonesia on the Lebanese whose visas had expired while in the country. Twenty-eight Lebanese asylum-seekers drowned in a boat sinking off Indonesia on Sept. 27 as they sought to sail to Australia. On Sunday, the 18 Lebanese survivors of the ferry returned to Beirut.