ANOTHER BOAT WITH ASYLUM SEEKERS SINKS IN INDIAN OCEAN

Thirteen people were confirmed dead and dozens missing after a suspected people-smuggling boat with nearly 60 onboard sank off Australia's remote Christmas Island, authorities said yesterday.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said aerial surveillance of a debris field of wood and life jackets had spotted 13 bodies and a full-scale hunt was underway for survivors involving 15 ships and 10 aircraft.

"This is a search and rescue, trying to find people alive," Clare told reporters, describing the incident as "another ter- rible tragedy, another terrible reminder how dangerous these journeys are".

When the drifting boat was first spotted by a border protection aircraft on Wednesday, Clare said officials "identified approximately 55 people on the deck of the vessel, mostly adult men but also a small number of women and children".

The navy vessel HMAS Warramunga was sent to intercept the boat on Thursday but it had disappeared, and aerial searches turned up no sign until Friday, when Clare said a "submerged hull" was seen from the air.

The Warramunga arrived on site to find wood and life jackets floating, with the first body sighted late on Friday and another 12 found by Sunday morning.

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Aerial surveillance of a debris field of wood and life jackets had spotted 13 bodies and a full-scale hunt was underway for survivors involving 15 ships and 10 aircraft.

ral David Johnston, head of border protection, said the "complex and time-consuming" task of recovering bodies would not begin until the search for survivors was exhausted.

"We believe from (medical) advice that we are still in the window where survivability is possible," Johnston said.