Video | Asylum seekers die as boat smashes onto rocks off Chistmas Island

Up to 50 asylum seekers are feared dead after a boat crashed into rocks on an island off Australia's coast, the Flying Doctors Service has said. The wooden vessel hit rocks on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean where refugee applicants are housed in a detention centre.

Witnesses described seeing dead bodies - including babies and children - floating in the churning water near the cliffs. Rescue efforts are underway but officials say a "large number" of asylum seekers are dead.

"There are people in the water crying out for help. There's a tragedy unfolding here," said Christmas Island Shire president Gordon Thomson.

The boat is believed to have been carrying up to 70 passengers - many of Iraqi origin - and local media reports say 41 people have been rescued, with another 30 still missing.

Residents on the island had rushed to the boat to help after the incident and a witness said the scene was chaotic.