27 asylum seekers die as boat sinks off Australia

 CBC News

At least 27 people are dead after a wooden boat carrying a group of asylum seekers smashed apart on jagged rocks in heavy seas off an Australian island.

A boat loaded with asylum seekers approaches the rocky shore of Christmas Island, just before breaking up on the rocks Wednesday. (ABC/Associated Press)The boat, which was believed to be carrying as many as 80 people, crashed off the shore of Christmas Island, a remote island in the Indian Ocean.

 

 

 

The boat, which was believed to be carrying as many as 80 people, crashed off the shore of Christmas Island, a remote island in the Indian Ocean.

Australian officials said Wednesday that 27 bodies were recovered from the water. Forty-one others were rescued from the water, while one person made it to shore.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/15/australia-asylum-boat.html#ixzz18CHn8erN

 

The search for survivors will go on until last light and officials said they will then decide whether to continue the search into the night, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/15/australia-asylum-boat.html#ixzz18CHbCdHl