CIDAUN, Indonesia -- Rescuers searched the waters off Indonesia's Java Island on Wednesday (July 24th) for scores of asylum-seekers who were aboard a boat that sank Tuesday night on its way to Australia, AFP reported.

At least seven people are confirmed dead, five of them children. Dozens of people managed to swim to shore over the course of two to three hours or were pulled from the water by fisherman and rescue personnel. So far, 156 have been found alive.

The exact number on board the ship is unclear, with estimates ranging from 204 to 250.

"We have to do proper checks, but they say they're from Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka," chief of the rescue operation, Rochmali, told AFP. The boat had apparently left from Cianjur and was bound for Australia's Christmas Island when it began taking on water.