Belgium keeps eye on ship suspected of carrying refugees

The vessel was identified as the "Elpa" and was sailing under the Panamanian flag. Its port of departure was Safi, Morocco. The report said there were indications that possibly as many as 1,000 people were on board the Elpa, which so far had not entered into Belgian territorial waters. Dutch authorities were also expected to put the ship under their observation once it reaches Dutch territorial waters, Belga said. One week ago, a rusty freight vessel, the "East Sea", was apparently intentionally grounded just off the coast of the French town of Saint-Raphael on the Mediterranean Sea, enabling over 900 Iraqi Kurd refugees to reach shore. The captain and crew fled. With that incident in mind, Belgian authorities have set up a crisis team and were making early preparations to deal with a possible influx of refugees from the Elpa.

(dpa)