Asylum seekers drown on way to Australia

Six asylum seekers including two children have drowned after their boat bound for Australia sank, Indonesian authorities said.

The West Java Anti-People Smuggling Task Force says about 18 asylum seekers are missing after the boat, carrying about 70 people, sank off the coast of Java.
Police Commissioner Fatma Noer says 46 others have been pulled from the water and rescue boats are still searching for the missing passengers.
She says the boat was allegedly heading towards Christmas Island.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the deaths of the asylum seekers are awful.
She says the situation shows how desperate asylum seekers are.
"What this clearly shows is that we need to be offering safer pathways for people to reach protection and to ensure that they can seek asylum in a safe way," she said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has confirmed another boat carrying 92 asylum seekers has arrived at Christmas Island.
The President of the Christmas Island Shire, Gordon Thomson, says the boat arrived this morning and is in Flying Fish Cove with people still onboard.
He says Navy personnel are with the boat.
@'ABC'