22 Dec 2011

Soldiers linked to sunken asylum seeker boat

10:58 am on 22 December 2011

Three Indonesian soldiers are accused of being involved with an asylum seeker boat which sank off the Javanese coast on Saturday.

The boat, which is believed to have been en route to Australia, sank in rough seas with more than 200 people on board. About 30 bodies have been recovered so far.

National police director Brigadier General Aridono Sukmanto told the ABC that a group of soldiers was being investigated over the disaster.

They are suspected of helping people smugglers organise the final stages of the journey.