Refugee boat sinks on way to Australia, search for survivors underway

                       
Rescuers battled strong currents and high waves on Saturday while searching for dozens of people missing and feared dead one day after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank off the coast of Indonesia's main island of Java, killing at least 21 people.            

The boat capsized and sank in waters off West Java's Sukabumi district after being hit by high waves on Friday.        

Survivors said about 100 people were aboard the vessel.                   

One survivor accused the Australian government of not responding to calls for help.               

"All my family die because of you," one man told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as he sat alongside other survivors on the back of a pick up truck.  
             
"We called the Australian government for 24-hours, they were telling us 'we're coming, we're coming, we're coming,' and they didn't come. We sent them the position on the GPS exactly where are we and we drowned and nobody come," he said.           

Later, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott avoided reporters' questions on the topic.              
An official with Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency said on Saturday that 28 people had been rescued and transported to an immigration office for identification.               

Among those rescued were three Lebanese nationals who were found early on Saturday after being stranded on an island about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from where the boat sank, the official said.         

This as, a delegation of the Akkar town of Qabeit held a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati whereby they tackled the means to transfer the bodies of their relatives who drowned yesterday.                    

Sources also reported that Lebanese delegations will head to Indonesia today and tomorrow, noting that they will follow up on the issue closely.                    

A helicopter and more than a dozen boats were being used on Saturday to continue the search for about 35 people believed to be missing.             

There were conflicting reports about the exact number of people on the boat due to the lack of a manifest, but some survivors told officials that about 100 asylum seekers from Lebanon, Pakistan and Iraq were believed to be aboard.                

Survivors said the boat was headed for Australia's Christmas Island.                


AP/LBCI