Only two survive death raft

Press, 1 December 1978, Page 6

Only two survive death raft

I : NZPA-Reuter Tokyo' * ;t Two Vietnamese who say 11 i they are the only survivors - ’ [of a group of 141 boat! [ people have been given per- ; mission to stay in Japan for < 190 days, immigration off!-! I I cials have said in the city of - Yokkaichi. [ - ! Most of the other refugees, 1 iaboard their 60-tonne boat: ieither died of hunger or dis-!; 'appeared after it ran agr-l found shortly after leaving! l I the mouth of Vietnam’s Me-, kong River early in October, J 'the survivors have been' {quoted as saying. Ho Van Gong, aged 38, a! former second-lieutenant ini the now-defunct South Viet-!' inamese Army and his 25- 1 | year-old sister-in-law, Chau I, :Ti Nuav Fan, were rescued; 1 by a Greek tanker in the! ’ {South China Sea on Novem-j | ber 18 'and arrived at the” ] central Japan port last Sat-| iurday, the officials say. j" I The Vietnamese were; -quoted as saying they had!, [abandoned the" wrecked boat; I early this month, drifting in ' ! a raft together with a hand-; I ful of other survivors who! had later died. Mr Ho and Mrs Chau lost I! 'their spouses, brothers, and;, : children, according to the 11 ‘officials. I? i In the Malaysian capital, h ! Kuala Lumpur, a senior offi-p i cial said the United Nations ;1 {High Commission for Refu-n Igees had managed to resettle r ; only a handful of the Viet-! : namese boat people who j 5 have been pouring into Ma-11 laysia over recent weeks. j <