The Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, today, deflected questions regarding the plight of over 151 Tamil asylum seekers from south India left stranded on an allegedly sinking boat, reports ABC News.
The Immigration Minister Scott Morrison would not comment on the vessel or its position and said that there had been ‘no significant events involving extreme risk of safety of life at sea,’ reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
A Tamil passenger on board the boat, stranded near Christmas Island, spoke of the passengers’ plight after being contacted by a refugee advocate Fairfax Media.
“We need some help. We are refugees. We have come to Christmas Island because we don’t have anything. We have travelled from India. The boat is damaged. There are children, including infants and we are unable to manage,” said the woman who identified herself as a Tamil refugee.
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