Refugee boat sinks on way to Australia

Refugee boat sinks on way to Australia

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A youth stands near the wreckage of a boat that sank en route to Australia, killing over 30 migrants.

The latest disaster to strike refugees using Indonesia's southern coast to try to make the perilous crossing suggests that Australia's tough new immigration rules may not be enough to deter asylum seekers.

. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

An Indonesian policeman takes the fingerprints of Nadine Bakour, a Lebanese woman who lost her husband and two of her sons in the disaster.

Police have said the boat was headed for Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island, a frequent destination for refugee boats from Indonesia and a favoured route for people-smugglers. About 400 boats carrying asylum seekers have arrived in Australia over the past 12 months and the steady flow of refugees is a hot political issue.

. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

A villager stands beside bags containing the bodies of people who died when the boat sank.

Australia's newly elected conservative government has stopped providing regular information on asylum boats turned away and emergencies at sea. The new plans have been condemned by human rights groups, with Amnesty International accusing Australia of shirking its moral obligations to help the world's most vulnerable people.

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Slideshow

Villagers look at the body of an asylum seeker who died when the boat sank.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Stringer

Villagers look at the body of an asylum seeker who died when the boat sank.

Children ride a motorcycle past a piece of wreckage from the boat.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Children ride a motorcycle past a piece of wreckage from the boat.

Refugees sit in a pickup truck as they are driven to a detention centre.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Refugees sit in a pickup truck as they are driven to a detention centre.

A Red Cross truck transports migrants.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

A Red Cross truck transports migrants.

An Indonesian policeman takes the fingerprints of an Iranian survivor of the disaster.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

An Indonesian policeman takes the fingerprints of an Iranian survivor of the disaster.

Nadine Bakour cries as she sits next to her surviving son at Agrabinta health clinic.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Nadine Bakour cries as she sits next to her surviving son at Agrabinta health clinic.

A boy who survived the disaster waits at the health clinic.
. SUKABUMI, Indonesia. REUTERS/Beawiharta

A boy who survived the disaster waits at the health clinic.