More Than 150 Missing After Boat Carrying Migrants To Australia Sinks Off Java

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- More than 150 people are reported missing after a boat carrying 250 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey bound for Australia sank in the waters off Java Saturday night. Rescuers have plucked 33 people out of the sea about 30 miles from the Perigi coast in Trenggalek, eastern Java, but rescue work is being hampered by bad weather and poor visibility, according to media reports. The Metro TV station reported that the time of the incident could not be determined yet. The survivors are being given medical aid at a multipurpose building of the fishing port on Perigi island. The Antara News Agency reporter in Trenggalek reported that the boat, belonging to an Indonesian fisherman, was leased to take the migrants to Australia. -- BERNAMA