More survivors found in asylum-seeker boat disaster, but no change in policy

MORE survivors have been found from the asylum-seeker boat which sank off Indonesia, with the feared death of up to 200 people.

Boat tragedy

MORE survivors have been found from the overcrowded asylum-seeker boat which sank off Indonesia, with the feared death of up to 200 people.

Fifteen survivors have been found safe and well, and an Indonesian official in charge of the search is hopeful that more may be found alive.

Sutrisno, who is in charge of the search and rescue mission, confirmed this afternoon that 13 people - 12 men and one woman - had been picked up on the island of Nusa Barung.

Two crew, who abandoned the doomed ship in a dinghy as it began to sink, were also found this afternoon on the East Java mainland at Sindang Biru.

They will be interviewed by police in an effort to discover the identity of the people-smuggling syndicate behind the boat which went down shortly after leaving for Christmas Island.

The total number of survivors, including the two crew, is now 49.

Most of them are being accommodated at a hotel in the small town of Blitar, about 170km from the East Java capital of Surabaya.

"We are still optimistic about finding more survivors," Sutrisno said as he confirmed that the 13 people from the island were now in the coastal town of Jember.

"After today, we have great hope that we will find more survivors."

A spokesman for the national search and rescue agency said helicopters spotted the group on the island of Barung and a boat had been dispatched to confirm the report.

The discovery came after the search for survivors resumed this morning, and Australian Federal Police officers arrived in East Java to help the investigation into the tragedy.

But authorities concede that their mission remains grim, with up to 40 children believed to be among those who perished on the ill-fated voyage.

As the search continued, the loss of life failed to shift Australia's political leaders towards an agreed plan to tackling unauthorised boat arrivals.

Labor and the Coalition today both refused to budge on their offshore processing plans, with the government clinging to its Malaysia refugee swap deal and the Opposition demanding asylum-seekers be sent to Nauru.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said his Malaysia Solution offered the best possible deterrent to people-smugglers.

“Our position is clear; our rationale is clear,” he told Sky News.

“Everywhere - internally and externally - I've argued that Nauru in and of itself, is not a solution.

“Our position is we need the Malaysia agreement implemented, (and) that an offshore processing elsewhere in Papua New Guinea, would be a useful complement to that.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said it was time for the government to adopt proven Howard-era policies.

“The people-smugglers have been emboldened,” she said.

It was time for the government to swallow its pride and to reinstate policies that had been proven to work, Ms Bishop said.

“And that is offshore processing on Nauru, temporary protection visas and a policy of turning the boats back, working with the Indonesians, where it is safe to do so.”

Under the proposed Malaysia agreement, rejected by the High Court and unable to win the support of the parliament, Australia would send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia in return for 4000 bona fide refugees.

Additional reporting: AAP