Another Boat of Asylum-Seekers Sinks Near Australia

Another Boat of Asylum-Seekers Sinks Near Australia:

A barge carrying rescued suspected asylum seekers nears Christmas Island on June 22. Rescuers are searching for survivors off the coast of Christmas Island after a boat carrying suspected asylum seekers capsized. (Scott Fisher/Getty Images)

For the second time in a week, a boat carrying asylum-seekers capsized around 100 miles north of Australia’s Christmas Island near Indonesia early on Wednesday, authorities said.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said that a search was called off late on Wednesday after authorities rescued 130 survivors and recovered one dead body.

“Based on information from the survivors, including crew members, it is now believed that there were 134 people on board and that three people went down with the vessel,” the agency said in a statement.
However, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported that 19 people are still missing, citing AMSA.
Last week, a boat carrying more than 200 asylum-seekers from Afghanistan capsized only miles away from Wednesday’s sinking. Around 110 people were rescued.
Tubagus Hasanudin, the deputy head of the Australian Parliament’s committee that oversees defense, intelligence, information and foreign affairs, said that Australia needs to fix its approach to dealing with asylum-seekers.
“The government of Indonesia has done its best to guard this territory with limited equipment. But still these cases keep appearing,” Hasanudin said on Wednesday, referring to the two recent capsized ships, reported The Age.

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“In my opinion all countries involved must sit together, country of origin, country of destination, country of transit and countries that are passed by these people,” he added.