Immigrants boat capsize toll rises, Pakistanis among survivors

Rescuers have found the body of a child, a naval official said.Dayat Sudrajat told AFP that 48 survivors had been found after the boat sank Tuesday but that authorities were still unsure how many had been on board.He said rescue teams were looking for bodies and still trying to determine how many had been on the wooden boat carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, presumably to Australia.Seven bodies were found hours after the sinking.About 100 rescuers from the navy, police and local emergency department searched the waters. Today they found the body of a nine-year-old boy, but had to stop work due to heavy winds and rain, Sudrajat said.The captain and another crew member are being questioned by police, but so far have failed to tell us the number who were on board, he said, adding that the boat was probably overloaded.The survivors also are not talking, he added.The boat capsized on the way to Kupang in eastern Indonesia, a key transit point for refugees trying to reach Australia.I believe they were headed for Australia, Sudrajat said.Authorities were still investigating the cause of the accident but it was likely due to overloading and leaks, Sudrajat said.Strong winds and big waves as high as 2.5 metres could be other factors, he told AFP on Tuesday.Thousands of asylum seekers head through Southeast Asian countries on their way to Australia every year and many link up with people smugglers in Indonesia for the dangerous voyage.Canberra has failed in its efforts to set up a regional processing centre in neighbouring countries in an attempt to reduce the flow of asylum seekers heading to Australia.