Authorities searching for survivors after boat runs into trouble on the way to Christmas Island
Three people, including a young girl, have drowned and more than 160 people have been rescued by local fishermen and Indonesian authorities from a sinking boat which was carrying asylum seekers, according to reports from the region.
Initial reports had estimates of 60 people on the boat which was heading for Christmas Island carrying asylum seekers.
Australian authorities were not involved in the rescue and have been unable to provide any information apart from that they were aware of an "incident".
ABC's Indonesian correspondent has quoted local authorities as saying three people have drowned and about 160 people were rescued from the water on Wednesday morning.
It is believed the boat sank on Tuesday night, a few hours after leaving Java and a rescue operation was launched on Wednesday morning.
The survivors will be taken back to Indonesia.
Australian authorities offered their assistance in the rescue but the offer was not taken up.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced a hardline asylum seeker policy last week which will send all asylum seekers who arrive by boat on Australian shores to Papua New Guinea.
The rescue operation comes as Customs and Border Protection confirmed they intercepted a boat carrying 38 asylum seekers on Monday.
HMAS Bathurst intercepted the boat west of Christmas Island after it was detected by a RAAF patrol plane and the passengers have been transferred to the island to undergo health and other checks before being transferred to PNG.