Post date: Jul 13, 2013 12:10:48 PM
A baby boy is dead and eight other people are missing after boat carrying asylum seekers capsizes near Australia's Christmas Island.
CHRISTMAS ISLAND (JULY 13, 2013) (NETWORK TEN) - A boat carrying 97 asylum seekers capsized off the coast of Australia'sChristmas Island, leaving a baby boy dead and eight other people missing, local media reported on Saturday (July 13).
Eighty-eight people believed to be from Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, were on the vessel that sank approximately 87 nautical miles north of Christmas Island on Friday (July 12). They were rescued by an Australian customs vessel."At approximately 11:15am Australian Eastern Standard Time (0115GMT) yesterday the Australian Federal Police advised the Australian Maritime Safety Authority that they had received a call from a man in Melbourne, who said that he'd received a call on his mobile phone from a person on a vessel saying that the vessel was in trouble and at that time provided a partial GPS position for the vessel," Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare told reporters in Sydney.
Australian authorities are searching for survivors.