Asylum seeker boat sinks off Java, hundreds missing

[dipsydoodle]

A boat carrying 380 asylum seekers, most of them from the Middle East, sank off the coast of east Java in Indonesia on Saturday and hundreds of the passengers were missing, a senior emergency official said.

Only 76 people had been rescued, said Sahrul Arifin, the head of emergency and logistics at the East Java Disaster Mitigation Centre.

He said strong waves wrecked the wooden boat about 90 kilometres out to sea.

"Our search and rescue team have begun sweeping the water around where the accident took place but we are now sending body bags to that area," Mr Arifin said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-18/asylum-seeker-boat-sinks-off-java/3736828

[tawadi]

1. The vessel appeared to have been carrying more than twice its capacity.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/around-200-missing-as-asylum-boat-sinks-off-indonesia/story-fn9hm1gu-1226224938883

Only 76 out of as many as possibly 380 have been rescued.