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CANBERRA - The Australian navy rescued 16 people, including 10 children, from a sinking boat off the country's northwest coast, the defence department said today.
Two navy patrol boats were diverted to assist the 10-metre-long vessel after workers on an offshore mining rig saw it taking on water, the department said in a statement.
Naval officers pulled three men, three women and 10 children from the overcrowded boat as it sank in rough seas.
It was not immediately clear whether the 16 people on board were asylum seekers, but Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said immigration officials were working to determine their identities.
- AP
