Up to 30 people are feared dead after a boat carrying 70 asylum seekers crashed into cliffs at Christmas Island.
In a press conference shortly after 3pm, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said there are two official vessels on the scene assisting.
"It is very difficult...we have naval and customs vessels in the area and the rescue is ongoing."
It will be 'some time before we have a clear picture', Swan said.
SkyNews reported the passengers were believed to be from Iraq and Iran, and that it was understood there were 41 confirmed survivors from the crash.
The sea was still too rough to begin any recovery operation in the area, Sky reported.
Australian Federal Police said they were responding to the incident with government agencies on the island.
The West Australian reported that the incident happened near Flying Fish Cove, but a witness said it was near Rocky Point.
The boat, reportedly carrying up 70 asylum seekers, including some women and children, struck the cliffs around 7am Christmas Island time on Wednesday.
Witnesses said the heavy seas were responsible for the crash.
Customs was reportedly able to get life jackets to some of the asylum seekers, but not all of them, the ABC said. SkyNews reported that around 50 local residents had come to the site, with some trying to throw makeshift flotation devices to the victims.
Christmas Island local Simon Foster told The West Australian that the boat was upside down and debris was scattered across the water, but he could not tell whether there were also people in the water.
"There is so much stuff in the water you can't tell what is debris and what is people," Mr Foster said.
"I have heard that the navy boat was cruising around earlier picking people up out of the water but it's hard to tell what's going on.
"I definitely would not want to be out in that water at the moment whether you were in the water or in a boat - it's shocking out there."
Witness Phillip Stewart told Sky News what had unfolded was a "major tragedy".
"We witnessed people drowning who did get off the boat but unfortunately were hit against the limestone rocks," he said.
"We did witness one person jumping off a piece of flotsam and swimming to a naval rescue but unfortunately what we witnessed was a major tragedy."
Mr Stewart, who's on the island making a documentary, said the asylum seeker boat was completely destroyed in the stormy conditions.
"There's absolutely nothing left of the boat," he said. "It's very steep cliffs and you've got waves of four to five metres breaking right up over the cliffs."
A larger naval vessel was further out to sea and two smaller inflatables were involved in the rescue effort, Mr Stewart said.
"They were coming in trying to get as close to the people as possible to get them off.
"But the refugees ... were in the surge zone, one of the most dangerous areas they could be."
One witness told Sky News people on the island could not comprehend what they had seen.
"There's simply shock and horror. I don't think there's a single dry eye," he said.
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