A boat carrying about 200 asylum seekers to Australia has capsized 120 nautical miles north of Christmas Island, reports said Thursday.
Two Australian navy vessels were heading to the site and three merchant ships in the area were joining the search as nightfall was approaching, dpa reported.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority was alerted to the vessel in distress by a surveillance plane around 3pm (0500 GMT).
A spokeswoman for the authority told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the boat was in the Indonesian rescue zone and Indonesia was coordinating the search and rescue efforts.
"We can confirm there have been some survivors, but we can't confirm numbers at this stage," she was quoted as saying.
Three other boats carrying 238 people have been intercepted near Christmas Island in the past 24 hours. dpa fw cds Author Frank Walker
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