Australian Border Force officials return 29 Sri Lankan asylum seekers

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Australian Border Force officials have returned 29 Sri Lankan asylum seekers by plane after their unseaworthy boat was detected off the West Australian coast, AAP reported.

According to media reports the group, which included a 12-year-old boy, left Sri Lanka on November 17. It is understood the boat was detected by Operation Sovereign Borders near the Cocos Islands and when inspected was found to be unseaworthy and could not be turned around.

The asylum seekers were reportedly arrested by Australian Border Force officials on Wednesday at Learmonth in northwest WA.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton declined to comment on the operation.

"We don't talk about operational matters," she told AAP.

An Operation Sovereign Borders update which covers the period of the incident will not be released until January.

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