Twenty-three Cambodian fishermen were saved in the far-off island nation of Mauritius after they were tricked into working as fishermen in Thailand, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Cambodian, Mauritian and Malaysian governments co-operated in the rescue of the fishermen, who are still awaiting transport home, a statement says.“They will be repatriated . . . as soon as possible.

Cambodia is co-operating with authorities in Mauritius and IMO [Inter-national Organization for Migration].” According to a report released yesterday by rights group Adhoc, there were 288 cases of rescued fishermen in  2012, a three-fold increase from 2011.