YANGON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen Myanmar illegal migrant workers have been sent back home by the Thai authorities as the workers' border passes have expired with no other official documents in possession, said the Information and Public Relations Department Sunday.

The 15 Myanmar workers were handed over to Myanmar's Tachileik authorities in eastern Shan state through the Myanmar-Thai Friendship Bridge-2 on Saturday.

According to the sources, as of Saturday, as many as 1,200 Myanmar illegal migrant workers including 353 women and 39 children were sent back by the Thai authorities through the Tachileik-Mae Sai Friendship Bridge this year.

Meanwhile, in November, a total of 73 Myanmar nationals, smuggled to Thailand by brokers with illegal jobs offer, were sent back by the Thai authorities to Myawaddy, a border town with Thailand in Kayin state.