Boat survivors tell of ordeal

Survivors were in the water for 30 hours

The 44 traumatised survivors from an Indonesian ship that sank on Friday, killing more than 350 asylum seekers on board, have been telling of their ordeal.

Eighteen are currently being treated in hospital, many with broken limbs and coral cuts. The rest are being put up at a hotel in the city of Bogor, 60 km (40 miles) south of Jakarta, officials said.

All they wanted was our money, they didn't care about the deaths of hundreds of people

Survivor

The migrants, mainly from Iraq, had spent more than 30 hours in the water before being rescued by Indonesian fishermen.

The boat had been heading for Australia and officials there say it highlights the dangers that thousands of would-be immigrants face when they attempt to cross from Indonesia to Australia.

Family swept away

One teenage boy, who lost his mother, brother and sister-in-law, told the BBC the boat sank within minutes of the engine cutting out.

He and his family found themselves in the water, clinging to a large piece of wood together. He said that with each large wave that came along one of his relatives was swept away, until only he was left.

Hussain Jawad lost 21 family members, including his parents

Another man, who had recently escaped from Afghanistan and who lost four brothers and three cousins, spoke of his anger towards the people-traffickers who controlled the boat.

"All they wanted was our money, they didn't care about the deaths of hundreds of people," he said.

Richard Danziger of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that according to accounts from survivors there were 421 men, women and children on board the boat when it left Indonesia.

Overcrowded

"The people are in very bad shape, they spent 30 hours in the water before being picked up. An eight-year-old child was the only survivor of a family of 21. It is horrific," said Mr Danziger.

He said the passengers were mainly Iraqis, with some Iranians, Afghans, Palestinians and Algerians. The crew of the boat was thought to be Indonesian but this has not been confirmed.

The way the people-smugglers pack these boats with far too many people, we've always been afraid that this sort of tragedy was going to happen

Richard Danziger, IOM

The ship was apparently packed with asylum seekers. According to Mr Danziger there was a high proportion of women and children, the youngest reported to have been just three months old.

The boat was so overcrowded that shortly after setting off 21 passengers demanded to be put down on an island - where they are still believed to be.

Tragedy expected

Mr Danziger said the authorities had been expecting a tragedy of this scale for some time.

"The way the people-smugglers pack these boats with far too many people, we've always been afraid that this sort of tragedy was going to happen," he said.

A spokesman for the Indonesian navy said the passengers each paid $800-$1,900 for a place on the voyage to Australia's remote Christmas Island.

Another boatload of about 220 asylum seekers, most of whom said they were from Afghanistan, arrived off Christmas Island at the weekend.

Australia has been trying to deter the trade by imposing tough new immigration laws and not allowing asylum seekers onto Australian soil.

Australia's Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock described the latest sinking as a terrible tragedy, but said it would not alter the government's policy of discouraging people-smuggling.

"It is extremely hazardous, it is life-taking and it ought not to be encouraged or accommodated," he said.

Smugglers in court

Three Indonesians appeared in an Australian court on Tuesday accused of attempting to smuggle 434, mainly Afghan, asylum seekers onto Australian territory in late August.

Bastian Disun, 32, Nordames , 31 and Aldo Benjamin, 21, were arrested after being rescued from their sinking boat by the Norwegian cargo ship the MV Tampa.

All the asylum seeekers were later transferred to the Pacific island state of Nauru and New Zealand where their applications are being processed.