Boat capsizes off Australia
June 27, 2012
Four people are presumed dead and 130 have been rescued after a boat carrying 135 asylum seekers to Australia capsized on Wednesday. Only one body has been recovered.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority called off the search for the remaining missing people after the catastrophe late on Wednesday, determining that there were no survivors beyond the 130 that had already been saved.
Wednesday's accident at sea follows the sinking of another vessel carrying asylum seekers in the same area nearly a week ago that left as many as 90 people missing.
A deal with Malaysia
The first asylum boat disaster last week reignited debate in Australia's parliament about how the country can deter asylum seekers from making the treacherous sea journey to the country.
On Wednesday, a bill that would allow the government to move asylum seekers to Malaysia and Nauru scraped through the country's House of Representatives by only two votes. But Australia's opposition rejects this solution; the minority Green Party has vowed to oppose the move in the Sentate on Thursday.
Australia is a common destination for boats carrying would-be asylum-seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka and other impoverished or war-torn countries.
ipj, sej/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)