Indonesian authorities are considering calling off the search early for missing asylum seekers just two days after the boat sank off the coast of Java.

Eight have been found dead with more are still missing.

Claudia Kirkman reports.

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Indonesian authorities have been searching the waters off central Java for three days now but there are still more than ten asylum seekers missing.

The last body retrieved was that of a nine-year-old boy, found on Tuesday night about 20 kilometres from where the boat sank.

Since then no further bodies or survivors have been found and authorities are now considering calling off the search, they’re expected to meet today to make a final decision.

It’s standard procedure in Indonesia for search and rescue operations to continue for seven days.

It’s believed the Australian-bound wooden boat was carrying about 70 Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers when it sank in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

While more than 50 have been rescued, the official death toll stands at eight and is expected to rise.

Claudia Kirkman, QUT News.