Asylum boat capsizes off Australia

A boat carrying around 100 suspected asylum seekers has sunk in the Indian Ocean, with rescue teams attempting to rescue passengers from the water, officials say.

The boat sank about 220km north of Christmas Island, where Australia operates a detention camp for asylum seekers, on Tuesday.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says an estimated 105 people were on board. The agency said it received a call for help on Tuesday morning.

An Australian Navy ship was sent to the scene and reported that the boat had sunk, a report verified by rescue officials. A merchant ship and rescue plane were also on the scene, and another Navy ship and plane were headed to the area to help.

"This is an ongoing search and rescue operation and no further information is available at this stage,'' the maritime agency said in a statement.

Christmas Island is around 500km south of Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a common destination for asylum seekers, who crowd into boats at Indonesian ports and pay smugglers to ferry them to Australian shores.

Australia is trying to discourage such risky journeys and announced last month that it would no longer accept asylum seekers who arrive by boat. Instead, it is evaluating their claims and resettling verified refugees in Papua New Guinea or Nauru.