Two navy vessels have gone to the aid of 90 asylum seekers on a boat northeast of Christmas Island following distress calls.
HMAS Armidale and HMAS Parramatta operating under the coordination of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority picked up the people on Friday, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service said in a statement.
Initial reports were that 90 passengers and four crew were aboard the vessel.
They were to be tranferred to Christmas Island for health and security checks.
Under the federal government's tough new asylum seeker policy none of the new arrivals will be allowed to settle in Australia.
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