At dawn on 24 August 2001, a 20-metre wooden fishing boat, the Palapa 1, with 438 (369 men, 26 women and 43 children) mainly Hazara from Afghanistan, became stranded in international waters about 140 km north of Christmas Island. On 26 August, Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Australia, which had been aware of the vessel’s distress, possibly through Coastwatch surveillance, requested all … Continue reading