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Authorities are continuing their search for survivors after a boat carrying up to 200 asylum seekers capsized about 200 kilometres north of Christmas Island, with as many as 90 people feared dead or missing.
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Three people were confirmed dead and at least 110 people were rescued and taken to Christmas Island, after a Australian Customs and Border Protection surveillance plane spotted a vessel "in distress" 200 kilometres north of Christmas Island about 3pm yesterday, AAP reported.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Jo Meehan told ABC Radio this morning the three bodies would be taken to Christmas Island.
"At this stage details are sketchy but what is apparent is there has been a large loss of life at sea," Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters from the UN environment conference in Rio de Janeiro after speaking with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"This is a very distressing and tragic incident."
Australian rescue ships and planes, three commercial vessels, and Indonesia's search and rescue authority, BASARNAS, have searched through the night, using infra-red sensors, night vision and high-definition cameras, as Christmas Island readied its hospital and medical staff for an influx of survivors.
The boat was believed to have originated in Sri Lanka, BASARNAS said, citing Australian authorities.
The West Australian Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan, said about 40 people were initially spotted standing on the hull of the upturned vessel and another 35 were spotted in the sea. He said there were not enough lifejackets on board and it was "likely" there were bodies in the water.
The survivors were found "about five or six kilometres of where the upturned hull was located", an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman said.
In December 2010, more than 50 asylum seekers died when a boat known as SIEV 221 crashed against rocks off Christmas Island.
It was the largest loss of life in Australian waters in peacetime in 115 years.
- Phillip Coorey, AAP with Glenda Kwek
