27 asylum seekers die as boat sinks

At least five people drowned when two boats capsized on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Reuters
At least five people drowned when two boats capsized on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Reuters
A boat laden with refugees is driven onto rocks at Christmas Island in this still image taken from video. Twenty-seven asylum seekers died and dozens may be missing after heavy waves smashed their timber boat onto rocks in the Indian Ocean off Australia, sinking the boat and throwing people into stormy seas. Photo: Reuters
Nearly 40 fisherman are feared dead in Zambia after a boat capsized in a heavy storm on a northern lake bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Reuters
People clamber on the rocky shore on Christmas Island during a rescue attempt as a boat breaks up in the background. A wooden boat packed with dozens of asylum seekers smashed apart on cliff-side rocks in heavy seas off an Australian island, sending some to their deaths in churning white-water. Photo: AP
A boat laden with refugees is driven onto rocks at Christmas Island in this still image taken from video. Twenty-seven asylum seekers died and dozens may be missing after heavy waves smashed their timber boat onto rocks in the Indian Ocean off Australia, sinking the boat and throwing people into stormy seas. Photo: Reuters
Rescuers are seen on the rocky shore on Christmas Island, where a refugee boat sank. Dozens of asylum seekers are feared dead after heavy waves smashed their timber boat onto rocks in the Indian Ocean, sinking the boat and throwing 70 to 80 people into stormy seas. Photo: Reuters
A boat laden with refugees is driven onto rocks at Christmas Island in this still image taken from video. Twenty-seven asylum seekers died and dozens may be missing after heavy waves smashed their timber boat onto rocks in the Indian Ocean off Australia, sinking the boat and throwing people into stormy seas. Photo: Reuters

Published Dec 15, 2010

A wooden boat packed with around 70 asylum seekers smashed apart on jagged rocks in heavy seas off an Australian island Wednesday, flinging screaming women and children into churning whitewater and killing at least 27 people. Christmas Island residents on a cliff above watched in horror as the boat broke apart with a crack, dumping passengers into monstrous waves that pounded them against the rocks.

Officials gave no immediate word on the nationality of the victims. The Customs and Border Protection Service said in a statement that 27 bodies had been recovered from the water. Forty-one survivors were plucked from the seas, and one person made it to shore.