12 feared dead in Australia boat accident: official

Twelve people were feared dead on Tuesday more than 24 hours after an unidentified boat sank in rough seas far off Australia's northwest, killing at least one, an official said.

Eleven people were still missing in the remote spot some 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) from Australia's mainland, a customs spokeswoman told AFP. Some 27 had been picked up by a passing tanker along with one body.

Authorities have not confirmed whether the 39 people on the stricken boat, which went down overnight on Sunday, were among more than 1,700 asylum-seekers who have made the perilous voyage to Australia this year.

"Obviously, considering the amount of time they've been in the water, there are concerns for their safety. But we'll keep looking," the customs official said of the missing.

Choppy sea continued to hamper the search by the Bahamas-registered LNG Pioneer, which diverted to the scene after a plea by Australian authorities and has now been joined by a Japanese fishing boat.

Seven Australian aircraft were due on the scene after first light, joining a Dornier plane fitted with night vision equipment which hunted overnight.

However, an Australian rescue ship was still more than a day's sail away from the far-flung site off the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.