12 feared dead in Australia boat sinking: official

Twelve people were feared dead on Tuesday more than 24 hours after an unidentified boat sank in rough seas far off Australia's northwest an official said.

One body had been recovered and 11 people were still missing in the remote spot 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) from Australia's mainland, a customs spokeswoman told AFP. Some 27 survivors had been picked up by a passing tanker.

Authorities have not confirmed whether the 39 people on the stricken boat, which went down overnight on Sunday, were bidding to join the more than 1,700 asylum-seekers who have made the perilous voyage to Australia this year.

"Obviously, considering the amount of time they've been in the water, there are concerns for their safety. But we'll keep looking," the customs official said of the missing.

Choppy seas continued to hamper the search by the Bahamas-registered LNG Pioneer, which diverted to the scene after a plea by Australian authorities and has now been joined by a Japanese fishing boat.

Eight Australian aircraft were sent to comb the area including a Dornier plane fitted with night vision equipment which hunted overnight.

However, an Australian rescue ship was still more than a day's sail away from the far-flung site off the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.

Asylum-seekers have returned as a major political issue in Australia with a new poll suggesting Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's handling of this year's sudden influx has not been popular with voters.

The latest Newspoll showed support for the opposition coalition drawing level with the ruling Labor Party, at 41 percent each, for the first time since Rudd became party leader in December 2006.

Rudd has come under fire for his so-called "Indonesian Solution" of giving financial aid to help Jakarta intercept Australia-bound asylum-seekers, despite its poor detention facilities and failure to sign the UN refugees convention.

Some 78 Sri Lankans rescued by an Australian ship remain in limbo after refusing to disembark in Indonesia, following a similar controversy involving about 250 asylum-seekers stopped by Jakarta at Canberra's request.

Rudd, who has also been accused of encouraging asylum-seekers by relaxing Australia's previous tough stance, defended his government's immigration policy late on Monday.

"It's tough and hardline on people smugglers, it's humane on asylum seekers, that is a responsible policy in the national interest," he told public broadcaster ABC.

"I understand that it won?t necessarily be popular. People from the right of politics won?t like it, people from the left of politics won?t like it, but my job is to get on with the business of doing it."