SYDNEY: Rescuers pulled more than 100 suspected asylum seekers to safety on Tuesday after their boat sank in the Indian Ocean.

The boat sank about 220 kilometres north of Christmas Island, where Australia operates a detention camp for asylum seekers.

An Australian navy ship hurried to the scene after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a call for help from someone on board Tuesday morning.

When the navy ship arrived, the boat was partially submerged and passengers were struggling in the water.

Rescuers plucked 106 people to safety, the Customs and Border Protection agency said in a statement. Two people had minor injuries.

The search and rescue effort was continuing Tuesday afternoon, though it was unclear whether more people were missing.

The maritime authority initially estimated 105 people were on board the stricken vessel.

Christmas Island, located around 500 kilometres south of Jakarta, Indonesia, is a popular destination for asylum seekers who crowd into rickety boats at Indonesian ports and pay smugglers to bring them to Australian shores. Hundreds have died while attempting the journey in recent years.

Australia is trying to discourage such risky journeys and announced last month it would no longer accept asylum seekers who arrive by boat. Instead, it is evaluating their claims and resettling verified refugees in Papua New Guinea or the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru.

Opinion

Taliban’s road ahead
Updated 19 Aug 2021

Taliban’s road ahead

Without international legitimacy they cannot unlock the reserves or reactivate donor funding lines.
The perfect man
19 Aug 2021

The perfect man

Imam Husain exemplified perfection in every sense of the word.
Return of the Taliban
Updated 18 Aug 2021

Return of the Taliban

The new dispensation in Afghanistan will be required to alleviate the concerns over human rights issues.

Editorial

19 Aug 2021

Militancy concerns

HAVING made their way to Kabul like a hot knife through butter, the Afghan Taliban are saying all the right things ...
Horrific assault
Updated 19 Aug 2021

Horrific assault

There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to correct the public narrative around women’s rights.
19 Aug 2021

Decreasing FDI flows

THE consistent decline in FDI flows into Pakistan in recent years should worry our economic managers. The net flows...
Price of US follies
Updated 18 Aug 2021

Price of US follies

The birth of terror organisations like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda are by-products of America’s ideologically fuelled policies.
18 Aug 2021

Grotesque stunt

EVEN by the standards of the megalomaniacal Narendra Modi, it was an astonishingly ill-timed publicity stunt. A few...
18 Aug 2021

Facilitating SMEs

THE new three-year State Bank refinance scheme — SME Asaan Finance — for providing collateral-free bank loans to...