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United Nations wants action after asylum seeker deaths

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The United Nations refugee agency has called on the international community to cooperate more closely to deal with irregular migration after the deaths of at least nine asylum-seekers attempting to reach Australia, when their boat capsized off the coast of Indonesia.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Andrej Mahecic said the victims of Tuesday's sinking included four children, and an unknown number of other passengers on the boat remain missing.

Another 47 were rescued, though reports say that nine of the group of Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani managed to escape from the hotel in Ciamas, West Java, where they were being held.

Mahecic, in a statement, said the tragedy underlined the desperate steps that people are willing to take in their search for protection or a better future.

"It also adds urgency to UNHCR's calls to the international community to cooperate more closely in addressing irregular migration and providing protection and solutions to refugees, thus averting the need for individuals to undertake such perilous journeys by boat."