http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/14699462/asylum-seeker-boat-in-distre...A boat carrying up to 150 asylum seekers is believed to be in distress in Indonesia's Sunda Strait, the ABC reports.
Confirmation is being sought from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Indonesian search and rescue agency BASARNAS.
A tweet from the Indonesian agency posted on the social media network Twitter said it was a wooden ship with about 150 passengers on board.
The agency said it had sunk off Ujung Kulon, on the western-most tip of Java.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said later in a statement that BASARNAS was coordinating the search and rescue response.
Australian authorities had issued a broadcast to vessels in the area to assist, but BASARNAS had indicated no further assistance was required.
The head of BASARNAS, Gagah Prakoso, said search teams deployed to the boat's last known location had found no sign of the vessel.
He said helicopters involved in the search had returned to base.
"After hours of searching around the site where it's said to be sunk, we found nothing. There's no sign at all if the boat sank.
"Usually when a boat sinks, there should be a sign, maybe one or two people may be floating using parts of the boat.
"But there's nothing."
Sky News reports Indonesian authorities have made contact with the vessel and it is not in distress.
Forum
Pages: 1 
