Five dead as asylum seeker boat towed

Reports that five suspected asylum seekers have drowned trying to reach Australia
are "tragic", the federal government says.
Fifty-nine people were rescued on Saturday near the Cocos Islands after their boat
became disabled.
On Sunday they were taken ashore the Australian territory.
But Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says the rescued passengers have reported
five people went missing after leaving the vessel "several days ago before help
arrived".
"If reports about five missing passengers are correct, this is a tragic and
unnecessary loss of life, and highlights that these types of voyages are extremely
dangerous," Mr O'Connor said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, loss of life at sea can occur when people are persuaded to embark on
these poorly maintained vessels over such a great distance."
Mr O'Connor said a search had been called off after medical advice suggested the
chances of survival "were no longer a reasonable possibility".
A rescue mission involving aircraft and four merchant vessels began on Wednesday
after reports of a boat in distress.
The boat was located about 270km northwest of the Cocos Islands on Thursday.
Mr O'Connor said the 59 passengers were rescued by the Russian merchant ship MV
Postojna on Saturday and were transferred to the Cocos Islands on Sunday morning.
"Surveillance aircraft were deployed to continue searching the rescue scene
following (the) reports from rescued passengers that five passengers were missing,"
Mr O'Connor said on Sunday evening.
"Objects that may have been associated with persons missing have been identified,
including lifejackets and tyre tubes.
"However, advice received is that the search has not uncovered any signs of life in
the rescue area."
The home affairs minister said the rescued passengers would be interviewed over the
next few days "regarding the circumstances in which other passengers may have gone
missing".
It is believed the asylum seekers' boat had engine failure and was drifting in the
region, about 2000km off the West Australian coast, before being spotted on
Thursday.
A spokesman for Border Protection Command later told AAP the search initially
started on Friday April 30.
"We were notified that there was a potential vessel requiring assistance about 125
nautical miles north of Cocos Islands," he said.
"We established contact with the vessel and discovered they'd run out of food, water
and fuel."
A nearby merchant was called in to help the vessel. It transferred supplies but
there was no additional request for assistance by the suspected asylum seekers.
"They were happy being in the boat," the spokesman said.
At this time, border protection discovered the boat was heading to Christmas Island.
Last Wednesday, when the boat hadn't arrived, border protection contacted the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority "to conduct another search and rescue".
The boat is the 52nd to be intercepted on its way to Australia this year.