Residents of the island of Christmas on the cliffs above looked helpless horror that the vessel broke separated with a crack, dumping of passengers in the monstrous waves that their battered against the rocks. Rescue efforts were underway and officials have said that it is not immediately clear how many people were dead.
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"While many details about this tragedy is still not confirmed, I understand there are a large number of deaths and injuries to persons aboard ship, including women and children," State of Australia-Western first Colin Barnett said in a release.
At least 30 people were wounded, three critically, in the accident, said Joeley Pettit-Scott, a spokesman for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who sent teams of physicians on the island. Critical patients, two men were injuries to the head and a woman has abdominal trauma, she says.
Said Wayne Swan acting Prime Minister the boat was a people smuggler vessel, but it is unclear how many people were on board, or where they came from. "A number of people have been rescued, but unfortunately, some bodies were recovered," Swan said.
Cyprus is a remote Australian territory near Indonesia as the Australian continent and a target frequently hopes for refugees, which are housed in a detention centre there. The Australia is a primary destination for people from poorer countries often ravaged by war, such as the Afghanistan who want to start a new life.
Photos and videos taken by witnesses of the scene show the wooden boat crashed into the rocks and separates. The images also show people floating in the water in the middle of the wreck. We know they are alive or dead. The vessel was approximately 20 to 30 metres (6 to 9 meters) long, with a covered compartment fabric or plastic foil.
Simon Prince, who lives next to the cliff where the ship crashed, told the Associated Press he was awakened early Wednesday by what he thought were hailed. He walked out of the cliff and instead heard shouting to the rescue boat just off the coast.
"The engine had failed," Prince said HA. "They were washing backward and forward very close to here, the cliffs are very unpleasant, jagged limestone cliffs".
Prince called the police and soon, there are dozens of people standing on the cliff, wondering how they could help despite the storm and crashing waves.
He said the vessel carrying about 50 people, thrown for an hour before he was finally beaten rocks at the base of the cliff.
"When the vessel struck the cliff was a sickening crack." All persons on board is precipitated on the side, which is the worst thing they could do, but I do not think that anyone who can swim. "I think there were about two lifeboats on this thing," Prince said.
"It was just awful." People were crushed. Body of the dead children, the thing was pretty terrible. »
Prince, who has a diving and other neighbouring countries began to throw lifejackets in water, 50 or 60 of them. But several floated right here. Some candidates rescuers were injured while attempting to get the lifejackets to water on rocks and need for suturing later, he said.
Resident Michael Foster has watched with horror that the women and children has shouted aid in the white sea below.
"They had lifejackets on them, but the water was just... pushing and jets to rocks," Foster told the AP. "It was a pretty horrific situation."
Foster, electrician, saw approximately 50 people fighting waves of 10 feet (3 meters) when he arrived at the cliff, but currents soon began to sweep away them. He scored 10 organizations that appeared to be dead. The rafting white, it was impossible to say if they were women or men, he said.
The Australian Federal police say only that they met a "shipping incident" involving an illegal ship suspicion on the island. The Department refused to comment further.
"There is a current situation, which consists of rescue people off the coast of the island Christmas." Our paramount priority is the safety of all parties, "Customs and protection service boundaries said in a press release." The Agency officials declined to develop.
The police state the Australia also to have no comment.
"It's a tragedy very, very bad unfolding" official local Christmas Island Gordon Thomson told the AP, refusing to say anything more.
Prince said marine and customs vessels were the island assisting another vessel of asylum seekers in the calm seas and took some time to respond to calls for assistance."Finally, the Navy did come and start gathering of people out of the water but it was too late for some," Prince said.
Asylum seekers illegally entering Australian waters boat are sent to detention of Christmas Island, or centres of detention on the Australian continent while their asylum requests are passed in review.
In recent years, many come from the Afghanistan the Iran and the Iraq. As a general rule, they fly in Indonesia and then continue in Australia in small boats, barely airworthy.
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