SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA'S foreign minister said on Thursday a boat carrying about 70 migrants was still missing in Indonesian waters, backtracking on earlier remarks it had been found with everyone safe on board.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said assurances from Indonesian officials on Wednesday that they had found the vessel and it had not sunk as initially feared were incorrect.

'Indonesian officials advised the Australian embassy in Jakarta that they were unable to confirm the information provided yesterday regarding the location of the vessel and its passengers, and that at least some of the information may have been relayed in error,' he said in a statement.

'Australian officials in Jakarta today have been urgently seeking to clarify information regarding the whereabouts of the vessel and the safety of the people on board.'

Mr Smith earlier said that Australian police told the Indonesians that the boat, reportedly carrying about 70 Afghans, sank late Tuesday off Komodo island, a nature reserve for Komodo dragon reptiles. He said Australia was ready to help Indonesian authorities locate the boat and its passengers.

Indonesia is a transit route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia seeking to travel to Australia in rickety boats with the help of people smugglers.

People-smuggling is a hot political issue in Australia, where Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is accused by the opposition of encouraging illegal immigrants by relaxing the hardline policy of his conservative predecessor, John Howard.

Mr Rudd this week visited Malaysia to urge officials there to crack down on human-trafficking following a sharp rise in arrivals in Australia - 825 already this year, compared to just 179 for the whole of 2008. -- AFP

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