Zeenews Bureau
Melbourne: Over 120 people were rescued on Wednesday when a ship carrying around 150 people capsized north of Christmas Island in the waters between Australia and Indonesia. This is the second such incident in the area after an asylum-seeker boat sank a week earlier.
It is believed that the boat was mainly occupied by Afghans, and women and children were on board.
According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the ill-fated boat had sent a distress call early on Wednesday. Two merchant vessels arrived at the scene of the accident and were trying to rescue people.
AMSA further said that the exact number of survivors in the water were unavailable, and conditions were ``fair, not ideal``.
Last week, a boat carrying 200 asylum-seekers people sank off the Christmas Island. The authorities could rescue 110 people while 17 bodies were found before the search was called off.
(With Agency Inputs)
