The World - News from May 30, 1989

A small wooden boat carrying 107 Vietnamese refugees landed on an uninhabited island in southwestern Japan after a 40-day voyage, officials said. It was the first time since 1977 that a Vietnamese refugee boat had reached Japan directly from Vietnam, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Japan said. An official of Japan’s Maritime Safety Agency said 71 men, 22 women and 14 children were aboard the boat that landed at Biryo Island, 48 miles west of Sasebo. All of the refugees were reported to be in satisfactory condition. The refugees told officials that they left Vietnam on April 20 and that their boat, only 77 feet long and 18 feet wide, had drifted for the last week after its engine failed.