Asylum-seeker boat sinks en route to Australia

SYDNEY – Rescuers plucked 125 people from the ocean yesterday after an asylum-seeker boat sank en route to Australia, barely a week after another vessel went down in the same area, killing up to 90.

The rickety ship capsized 107 nautical miles north of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said, adding that one person was confirmed dead so far.In a late afternoon update, AMSA said there were up to 150 people on board, including women and children, contradicting Prime Minister Julia Gillard who told parliament there were between 123 and 133 on the boat.Gillard gave her report as the heat was turned up on Australian politicians to break their deadlock on how to deal with the arrival of asylum-seekers.The incident comes just days after another boat with around 200 people on board went down in the Indian Ocean as it made its way to Australia.In that tragedy, rescuers managed to save 110 people and 17 bodies were recovered, but no other survivors were found.Three merchant vessels, including the MV Bison Express, a Philippines-flagged livestock carrier, were on the scene of yesterday’s disaster, which happened in Indonesian waters.The vessels ‘responded to the AMSA call for assistance and have rescued 125 people. Current reports are that one deceased person has been recovered’, Australian Customs and Border Protection and AMSA said in a statement.AMSA said two Australian navy ships and a spotter aircraft were also helping with the rescue effort in conditions described as ‘fair, not ideal’.In a statement, Customs said police received a satellite phone call early yesterday from the vessel and ‘initiated an immediate response’.Details were passed to the Indonesian rescue authority Basarnas, which said it understood the generator was broken and the boat was taking on water.A photo posted on the AMSA website showed a small, basic-looking boat crowded with people on its decks, taken by the MV Bison, before it capsized.The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said most of the passengers were believed to be Afghans, though this could not be confirmed.- Nampa-AFP