More lives could be saved: Clare
Home Affairs minister Jason Clare says the sea temperature and conditions where the boat capsized may allow people to survive 36 hours in the water.
- Autoplay OnOff
- Video feedback
- Video settings
- Three men confirmed dead
- Up to 200 asylum seekers on boat
- Passengers believed to be from Sri Lanka
Authorities are continuing their search for survivors after a boat carrying up to 200 asylum seekers capsized about 200 kilometres north of Christmas Island, with as many as 90 people feared dead or missing.
Three men were confirmed dead and 110 people - including a 13-year-old boy - were rescued, after a Australian Customs and Border Protection surveillance plane spotted a vessel "in distress" 109 nautical miles south of the Indonesian island of Java about 3pm yesterday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.
This boat was carrying 250 asylum seekers when it sank off East Java, killing some 200, in November last year. Photo: Jumai Evan Junardi
"The objective is to save as many lives as possible," Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said this morning.
He said the water temperature was 29 degree and conditions were at "sea state three", meaning there were slight waves of heights between 0.5 to 1.25 metres.
"People can survive out there up to 36 hours if they have either life jackets or they have debris to hold on to," Mr Clare said.
"So we are in that critical window where there is a chance more lives can be saved."
AMSA spokeswoman Jo Meehan and Mr Clare said the survivors and the three bodies were being taken to Christmas Island on HMAS Wollongong and would arrive at first light and receive further medical care.
"Overall they are rather healthy, with some injuries," Ms Meehan said about the all-male survivors, who were wearing life jackets.
All the passengers were believed to be men except for the boy, Mr Clare said.
Indonesia's search and rescue authority, BASARNAS, is leading the search in the country's search and rescue zone, about 110 nautical miles south-west of Christmas Island.
Assisting them are Australian search and rescue planes and four merchant vessels, two of which were due to arrive at the site shortly and two which were arriving there at 11am and 2.15pm today, Mr Clare said.
The latest report from surveillance aircraft said the upturned hull of the boat was still visible, Ms Meehan said.
'A large loss of life'
"At this stage details are sketchy but what is apparent is there has been a large loss of life at sea," Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters from the UN environment conference in Rio de Janeiro after speaking with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"This is a very distressing and tragic incident."
Australian rescue ships and planes, three commercial vessels, and Indonesia's search and rescue authority, BASARNAS, have searched through the night, using infra-red sensors, night vision and high-definition cameras, as Christmas Island readied its hospital and medical staff for an influx of survivors.
The boat was believed to have originated in Sri Lanka, BASARNAS said, citing Australian authorities.
The West Australian Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan, said about 40 people were initially spotted standing on the hull of the upturned vessel and another 35 were spotted in the sea. He said there were not enough lifejackets on board and it was "likely" there were bodies in the water.
The survivors were found "about five or six kilometres of where the upturned hull was located", an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman said.
In December 2010, more than 50 asylum seekers died when a boat known as SIEV 221 crashed against rocks off Christmas Island.
It was the largest loss of life in Australian waters in peacetime in 115 years.
- Glenda Kwek, Phillip Coorey, AAP
