Last efforts in refugee boat search off Australia

SYDNEY: Rescuers were making last efforts Saturday to hunt for survivors from a refugee boat accident off Australia's Christmas Island as final hopes faded for some 90 people still missing.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said overnight searches of the sea north of remote Christmas Island had failed to find any more survivors, with the last living person plucked from the water late Thursday night.

One last effort was to be made Saturday, with medical advice suggesting there was still a chance someone could be alive, but the search was likely to be scaled back later in the day.

"We are continuing to focus on recovering survivors, however we will reassess the situation this afternoon and the focus may shift to recovering non-survivors," an AMSA spokeswoman told.

"We will reconvene this afternoon and, based on what this morning's search uncovers, we will make a decision then."

Rescuers managed to save 109 people from the stricken people-smuggling ship which capsized with some 200 people on board in the Indian Ocean on Thursday afternoon, two days after first issuing a distress call.

Three people have been confirmed dead but there are fears for "around 90 people (who) remain unaccounted for" according to Customs.

The boat is believed to have originated in Sri Lanka and to have been carrying mostly Afghan asylum-seekers. The survivors include a 13-year-old boy.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said the critical 36-hour search window had passed and conditions had steadily deteriorated, with the situation "looking grimmer by the hour".

"There may still be people alive, but we're passed that window," Clare told ABC Television.