ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | JAKARTA — Eighteen illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Burma overpowered their guards and escaped from an Indonesian detention facility early Wednesday, an official said.

Three guards were injured—one with a broken arm and two with head injuries—during the breakout, said Rochmadi, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry who like many Indonesians goes by a single name.

The immigrants were picked up by getaway vehicles waiting outside the jail, Rochmadi said. Police launched a province-wide search, including patrols along the border with neighboring East Timor, he said.

The men were apparently trying to arrange a boat trip to Australia when they were detained in Kupang, eastern Indonesia, in December without proper identification.

Indonesia has long been a transit point for people from poor, often conflict-ridden countries hoping to enter wealthy Australia.

In recent years, most migrants have come from Iraq or Afghanistan. They typically fly to Indonesia before continuing to Australia aboard cramped, barely seaworthy ships.