Australia ends search for 90 missing from boat
Jun 23, 2012, 1:35 PM
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Australia has ended a three-day search for survivors among more than 90 Afghan asylum seekers missing since a fishing boat carrying them capsized between Australia and Indonesia.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the air and sea search for survivors ended late Saturday and that all of the missing are now presumed dead.
No survivor has been found since the day of the tragedy on Thursday, when 108 men and a 13-year-old boy were rescued from the Indian Ocean.
Searchers will now focus on recovery of bodies. The safety authority said six bodies had been retrieved by Saturday, and more had been seen by planes searching for survivors.
More than 200 males seeking asylum in Australia were aboard the Indonesian fishing boat.
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