Flying doctors join rescue effort

02 November 2009 | 11:50:36 AM | Source: SBS staff and agencies

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is helping the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in its search for survivors following the sinking of a boat off the Cocos Islands.

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So far 17 people have been plucked from the water, but there are grave fears for more than 20 others believed to be on board.

There has been no confirmation on whether those aboard the vessel are asylum seekers, or where the boat originated.

The RFDS is to send a long-range jet to help the search and rescue effort.

"It's a fairly urgent task because there's still people in the water and the weather is not fantastic," Medical Director of the RFDS in Western Australia, Stephen Langford, told the ABC.

The long-range jet will join an RAAF patrol plane in the Indian Ocean later in the day.

It is believed 40 people were on the vessel when it sank.

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