Asylum seeker boat sinks off West Java, killing three

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/asylum-seeker-boat-sinks-off-west-java-killing-three

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A fishing boat carrying 30 asylum seekers has sunk off Indonesia's West Java province after its engine failed, killing at least three people, including a two-year-old child.

The passengers, mostly Iranian and ethnic Rohingya, said they were stuck at sea for nearly three hours on Monday before being saved by local authorities and fishermen.

One of the survivors, Jamil, said the group was making its way to Australia.

"We all will be heading to Australia," Jamil told reporters in broken Bahasa Indonesia.

Jamil said the asylum seekers had bought the boat from local Indonesians. "They give us a boat and they give us a bad engine and the engine failed. They are not sorry for us," he said.

About 400 boats carrying asylum seekers have made their way to Australia over the past year and about 45,000 asylum seekers have arrived since late 2007, when the former Labor government relaxed border policies, eventually tightening them again in the face of a voter backlash.

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