27 die as asylum seekers’ boat smashes into rocks

A WOODEN boat packed with asylum seekers smashed against jagged rocks in a storm off an Australian island yesterday, killing at least 27 people.

Christmas Island residents on a cliff above watched in horror as the boat — carrying about 70 people — broke apart with a crack.

“It was just horrible. People getting crushed. Bodies, dead children, the whole thing was pretty awful,” island resident Simon Prince said.