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| Dozens missing in deadly boat capsize near Indonesia | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least one person has died and dozens are missing after a boat carrying asylum seekers heading to Australia sank off the Indonesian island of Java. | |
| Australia's Maritime Safety Authority said a rescue operation was under way. | Australia's Maritime Safety Authority said a rescue operation was under way. |
| The boat was believed to be carrying as many as 100 people, with 60 passengers unaccounted for, local media reports. | The boat was believed to be carrying as many as 100 people, with 60 passengers unaccounted for, local media reports. |
| The incident comes days after Australian PM Kevin Rudd announced that refugees arriving by boat would no longer be settled in Australia. | The incident comes days after Australian PM Kevin Rudd announced that refugees arriving by boat would no longer be settled in Australia. |
| In a bid to tackle an increase in the number of boat arrivals, Australia's new asylum policy will see refugees sent to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for processing. | |
| The boat, which was carrying passengers from Sri Lanka and Iran, reportedly started smoking and taking on water shortly after departure from Cidaun village on Java on Tuesday evening. | |
| "I am the only one back," one man travelling with 61 Iranians told the Sydney Daily Telegraph. | "I am the only one back," one man travelling with 61 Iranians told the Sydney Daily Telegraph. |
| Other reports said only one person was confirmed to have died. | Other reports said only one person was confirmed to have died. |
| Australian officials said the Indonesian authorities were conducting the rescue operation. | Australian officials said the Indonesian authorities were conducting the rescue operation. |
| It is the latest in a series of deadly incidents involving migrants travelling by boat to Australia. Last week, four people died when a boat carrying 150 people sank off the coast of Christmas Island. | |
| Christmas Island lies 1,600 miles north-west of the mainland and is the closest part of Australia to Indonesia. It is the key transit hub for people-smugglers. | |
| Australia has seen a sharp rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat in recent months. | |
| Prime Minister Rudd said the new asylum policy was aimed at dissuading people from making the dangerous journey to Australia by boat. | |
| However, the policy has been condemned by human rights organisations and PNG officials who view Australia as shirking obligations and outsourcing its problem to a developing nation. |