At least 27 die in Xmas Island boat crash

At least 27 suspected asylum seekers have died after their boat smashed against
jagged rocks on Christmas Island, off the northwest coast of Australia.
A statement from Customs on Wednesday evening says 41 survivors have been recovered
from the water and one more person made it to the shore.
Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan said it wasn't clear if more bodies would be found
in the wake of what he described as "a tragic event".
"The rescue and recovery effort has been and is ongoing. That will, I guess, cease
at sunset and we'll have to evaluate the position overnight," Mr Swan told ABC
Television.
"It's obviously been very traumatising for the local community and of course tragic
for so many people on the boat."
The boat, reportedly carrying up to 70 asylum seekers including women and children,
struck the cliffs of Christmas Island around 6.30am local time on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Flying Doctor Service told AAP a plane would be sent to
the island with two medical teams to retrieve three of the survivors and transfer
them to Perth.
Two of the survivors have head injuries and one has abdominal injuries.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced she will return from her holidays on
Wednesday night to deal with the incident.
Christmas Island dive shop operator Simon Prince told Sky News that he saw about
eight people dead in the water.
"There were dead children in the water; there was one very small child with a
life-jacket on, floating face down for a very long time, clearly dead," he said.
"There were dead men, I can't tell you definitely there were dead women but people
die in those conditions."
Mr Prince said it was "impossible" for people to come ashore at the razor-sharp
cliffs their boat approached in high seas.
"At the moment we've got a cyclone to the north of us, the sea is being whipped up
into an absolute frenzy of power," he said.
"Just to touch (the cliffs) is to cut yourself, let alone get hurled against them.
People were getting crushed against the (cliffs), it was really, really horrible."
Mr Prince said he and other locals threw life-jackets into the water, while
Australian Federal Police, Navy and Customs officials were helping in the rescue
effort as well.
West Australian police said 13 officers - including investigators, search and rescue
officers and forensic officers - were flying to Christmas Island.
The WA Coroner has confirmed the bodies of the deceased will be taken to Perth, the
police said in a statement.
Amnesty International Australia spokesman Andrew Beswick said the only way to stop
asylum seekers risking their lives in dangerous sea voyages was to give them an
alternative.
"This includes increasing the capacity and willingness of countries across the Asia
Pacific to protect refugees."
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the tragedy off Christmas
Island was a "realisation of our worst fears".
"The lives of the men, women and children on these boats are as precious as our own
and we mourn their loss," he said.
"Today is a day for sadness, not for policy discussion and analysis.
"Today is a day to focus on those who remain at risk, particularly as the rescue and
recovery operation continues."