Australian Border Force officers have worked through the night, searching for a Pakistan national who escaped his ship while in quarantine on waters off Townsville. 

The multi-agency manhunt ended when the escapee handed himself into Townsville police.

“He walked off the ship and then he left the port,” Sophie Upcroft told Neil Breen. “Bizarrely, he did have a white van waiting for him, … so it would appear this was a planned escape.”

Sophie reported a further 11 crewmembers walked off the boat and onto the port when they caught word of their crewmate’s escape.

They are refusing to get back onto the boat, demanding Australian authorities grant them asylum.

Press PLAY below to hear Sophie Upcroft report from the scene 

Image: Nine News