Scores still missing after boat capsizes

CANBERRA, Australia – A search continued today for scores of men missing after a steel-hull fishing boat carrying about 200 suspected asylum seekers bound for Australia capsized in heavy seas south of Indonesia.

Four Indonesian and Australian warships, four merchant ships and five Australian government aircraft had joined the search in 7-foot swells for about 90 people still missing after the tragedy Thursday, Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Jo Meehan said. All aboard the vessel were male.

An Australian navy patrol boat and three cargo ships had rescued 110 survivors – including a 13-year-old boy – and delivered them to the Australian territory of Christmas Island 120 miles to the south early today, Meehan said. Three bodies also were recovered.

“The vast majority of the survivors are healthy and won’t need medical attention,” Meehan said.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said while seas were rough, people could have survived if they had life jackets or were clinging to debris as most survivors had done.

“There is the prospect that there are people out there still alive,” he told reporters.

He said about 40 survivors had been found clinging to the upturned hull on Thursday afternoon, while others were discovered clinging to debris up to four miles from the scene.

Authorities had not confirmed where the men were from, but the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported they are thought to be from Sri Lanka.