Indonesian maritime police officers escorts a group of asylum seekers aboard a maritime police boat in western Java island on October 9, 2012, three days after their boat was badly damaged after hitting the reef in rough seas.<\/p>\n
At least three Australia-bound asylum seekers have died and more than 150 others rescued from the ocean after their boat sank off Indonesia\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Java Island.\n<\/p>\n
Australian officials informed Indonesia on Tuesday evening about the sinking boat that was on its way to Australia\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Christmas Island.\n<\/p>\n
Police said that the three dead were two children and one woman.\n<\/p>\n
Local rescue officials said on Wednesday that 157 people were rescued, estimating there could have been \u00c5\u201cup to 200\u201d people on the boat, while a survivor said there were 250 passengers on board.\n<\/p>\n
“The 157 rescued have been taken to an immigration centre, where they have been given food and water,” said the head of the rescue operation Rochmali, who uses a single name.\n<\/p>\n
The incident came after Australia\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea on July 19 to send all asylum-seekers arriving by boat to the poverty-stricken island nation.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cFrom now on, any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugee,” Rudd said.\n<\/p>\n
Those assessed to be a refugee would be permanently settled in Papua New Guinea. And those whose applications are not successful would be sent back home or to third countries.\n<\/p>\n
The Coalition for Asylum Seekers called the measure shocking, stressing that Canberra has decided to shirk from its responsibilities assigned under the United Nations Refugees Convention.\n<\/p>\n
Australia struggles to curb a dramatic increase in the number of boats arriving in the country with refugees.\n<\/p>\n
More than 15,000 asylum-seekers have arrived so far this year. In 2012, the country received 16,000 asylum requests.\n<\/p>\n
SAB\/PR
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