Asylum-seeker boat sinking: 106 rescued

One hundred and six people were plucked to safety from a sinking asylum-seeker boat off Australia Tuesday, with just two suffering minor injuries, rescuers said.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) had earlier reported a boat with approximately 105 people on board was in trouble.
It did not say if everyone had been accounted for, only that the rescue operation was continuing.

AMSA received a request for assistance from someone onboard the boat Tuesday morning. A navy ship and a customs and border protection aircraft responded.

A merchant vessel also joined the rescue effort.

"The vessel was upright, but partially submerged. A number of people were sighted in the water," an AMSA spokeswoman said.
"As at 3:30pm (0530 GMT) HMAS Parramatta has reportedly recovered 106 people from the water.
"Two people are reported to have minor injuries. Search and rescue operations continue."
 

Earlier report

An asylum-seeker boat carrying 105 people has begun sinking north of the Australian territory of Christmas Island with a rescue operation underway, officials said Tuesday.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said they received a request for assistance from someone onboard Tuesday morning and a navy ship responded.

"The vessel was 120 nautical miles north of Christmas Island with reportedly 105 people on board," an AMSA spokeswoman said, adding that an alert was issued to shipping in the area.

"HMAS Parramatta arrived on scene at around 12.20 pm (0230 GMT) and reported the vessel had foundered."

The spokeswoman said a rescue operation was underway with support from a Australian Customs Dash-8 aircraft with another navy ship and a merchant vessel also steaming to the scene.

"This is an ongoing search and rescue operation and no further information is available at this stage," she added.

Asylum-seekers are a deeply sensitive issue in Australia as numbers increase, with more than 18,000 arriving so far in 2013, according to official figures.

Hundreds have drowned en route.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.