27 die as asylum seekers’ boat smashes into rocks
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.
Officials gave no immediate word on the nationality of the victims.
The Customs and Border Protection Service said 27 bodies had been recovered from the water. Forty-one survivors were plucked from the seas, and one person made it to shore.
“The rescue is being conducted in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions,” the customs department said. “The search and rescue situation is ongoing.”
Women and children were among the dead, Western Australia state Premier Colin Barnett said in a statement.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service sent doctors to the island to treat 30 injured victims, said Joeley Pettit-Scott, the group’s spokeswoman. Three patients were critically injured, two men with head injuries and one woman with blunt abdominal trauma, she said.
Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the vessel was a people smuggler’s boat, but it was not clear where the passengers were from.
Christmas Island is a remote Australian territory closer to Indonesia than the Australian mainland and a frequent target of refugee hopefuls, who are housed in a detention centre there. Australia is a prime destination for people from poor, often war-ravaged countries such as Afghanistan who want to start a new life.
“This incident is a tragic reminder of the danger faced by people fleeing persecution and human rights violations in their home countries, and the desperate measures they will resort to in search of safety,” said Richard Towle, the UN Refugee Agency’s regional representative.
Photos and videos taken by witnesses at the scene show the wooden boat crashing into the rocks and breaking apart.
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