The search for more than 40 asylum seekers missing feared drowned after their boat sank near Christmas Island was abandoned late on Sunday night.
The boat sank about 65 nautical miles north-west of Christmas Island after about 55 people were seen aboard last Wednesday.
The search and rescue operation sighted 13 bodies in the water on Saturday; no further bodies were seen since.
Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said those bodies already seen in the water had not been recovered, as the focus was on finding survivors.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority suspended the search and rescue operation after receiving medical advice on Sunday night ruling out the likelihood of survival of those on board.
Despite three vessels and five aircraft being involved in the three-day search and rescue operation, no survivors were found.
Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said the incident was "another terrible tragedy" and showed the perils of travelling in open seas in often unseaworthy boats.
The latest deaths of asylum-seekers hoping to make it to Australia come after the deaths of more than 100 on board a vessel that sank last July.
Drowned bodies of asylum seekers to be left in the water by authorities
The bodies of up to 60 asylum seekers who drowned off Christmas Island will be left in the water, with Australian authorities deciding their retrieval is not a priority.
While an investigation has been launched into the several delays it took to begin a full-scale search after the boat was first spotted on Wednesday afternoon, Australian Customs and Border Protection have decided not retrieve the bodies.
“No attempts to recover the deceased will be made today,” a spokeswoman said.
“Vessels and aircrafts are involved in a range of high priority operations in the waters near Christmas Island and elsewhere.
“Our priority in these operations remains the protection of life, responding to water rescues which may prevent any further loss of life.”
The Australian Customs and Border Protection may try to recover the bodies at a later date but the spokeswoman said the likelihood of “successful recovery” diminishes over time.
When asked if home affairs minister Jason Clare agreed with the decision, a spokesman said it was an operational decision.
Refugee advocates have expressed dismay that bodies will be left in the ocean, saying the asylum seekers deserve some dignity.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said retrieving the bodies would be a comfort to the families left behind.
“We’re always in favour of retrieving their bodies. There are families in refugee communities who look at these episodes with anguish and it can provide closure to get a better idea of who was on the boat and letting people know what has happened to relatives and loved ones,” he said.
Rintoul said the nationalities of people on the boat should emerge over the next few days when families and friends do not hear from those who should have arrived at the island.
He also criticised the time it took for a proper search to be launched, saying it was almost two days after the boat was first seen.
“When the plane first spotted the boat it was stationed in the water, that in itself should have set off alarm bells for people in that plane and the rescue authorities,” he said.
“These kind of boats when they are in the water and stationary are unstable.
“That boat was only a few hours, at the most, from arriving at Christmas Island - when it did not arrive it should of set off immediate alarm bells for a wider search. But all we saw was a navy boat.
“There was no mayday call until Friday. There is clearly a need for an inquiry into this particular boat in distress and we need to know the protocol and procedures the navy and rescue authorities were operating in.”
The boat was first noticed by an air force plane on Wednesday afternoon about 52km north of Christmas Island. It did not seem to be in distress, but it was not moving.
The crew of the plane counted 55 people on the deck. Most of the asylum seekers were men but women and children also appeared on board.
A navy ship was sent out about seven hours later to intercept the boat and arrived where the boat was last seen upright in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) did not send out a PAN-PAN (Potential Assistance Needed) call until 10am on Friday. The capsized boat was not found until Friday afternoon.
Rintoul said as far as the refugee advocates had been told, only a corridor was searched on Thursday and he wanted a far reaching inquiry, not just the standard investigation which was taking place.
“We’ve got a situation where there simply has not been an adequate response,” he said.
Phil Gendinning from the research and awareness organisation, the Edmund Rice Centre, supported Rintoul’s calls for a full investigation into the timeframe of the search and said the bodies should not be left in the ocean.
“This is an unmitigated tragedy of every proportion,” he said.
“Our preference would be retrieving the bodies so they can be given the chance of a dignified farewell without putting lives at risk.
“We also need to make sure this does not happen again.
“... a bipartisan effort needs to be made to assist people to be processed safely and securely.
“They need to be protected, not punished.”
The search was called off on Sunday night with no survivors found and the discovery of 13 dead bodies.
Border Protection Commander Rear Admiral David Johnston said on Sunday none of the bodies spotted in the search were pulled from the water.
"The recovery of bodies is complex and time-consuming, so all the surface vessels are continuing [the search] because it remains possible that there are survivors in the water," he said.
Two planes and two ships searched for survivors from Friday until Sunday night.
Home affairs minister, Jason Clare, said the search will be the subject of a “standard” review by Customs and Border Protection.
Monday 10 June 2013
http://www.gattonstar.com.au/news/Bodies-found-after-asylum-seeker-boat-sinks/1900450/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/10/asylum-seekers-bodies-christmas-island
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