Australia-bound migrants land on Indonesian island

East Java provincial search and rescue agency chief Sutrisno said the stricken boat had landed near Raas island, northwest of Bali, after authorities received a distress call Wednesday but were unable to find the vessel.

A crew member had phoned the Australian authorities, he said.

"Australian authorities gave us the cellphone of the crew, and we called them last night. They said the boat had engine trouble and was drifting for three days," Sutrisno said.

"Early this morning the boat somehow drifted ashore to a smaller island near Raas. Police and the village chief have put them in a community hall and given them food," Sutrisno said, adding they were believed to be heading for Australia.

They were "all safe and healthy" and would be picked up and handed to immigration authorities, he added.

More than 5,200 asylum-seekers have arrived in Australia so far this year on boats, many of them from transit hubs in Indonesia.

Early this month, Australia and Indonesia agreed to work more closely to crack down on people-smuggling, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying his people were victims of the trade as well.