video transcript

Around fifty-five people are rescued off the coast of Indonesia from a boat full of suspected asylum seekers. Another 100 are still believed to be missing. The survivors, most of them from Afghanistan, were picked up early on Thursday after their boat ran into trouble. Indonesian authorities launched a search after receiving a distress call on Wednesday, with the survivors eventually rescued by a merchant ship. This Afghan survivor, Hamidah, says she thought she was going to die at sea. But she doesn't want to go back to Afghanistan. SOUNDBITE) (English) ASYLUM SEEKER FROM AFGHANISTAN, HAMIDAH, SAYING: "Yes of course I want to go because I cannot go back to my city, you know." Indonesian authorities say the victims will be transferred to detention centres while they wait for the U.N. refugee agency to process them. Refugees seeking asylum in Australia often set sail from Indonesia in dangerous and overcrowded boats, aided by people smugglers. Since 2001, almost 1,000 people have died at sea attempting the journey.