Local fishermen braved severe weather and high waves to rescue 33 asylum seekers -- including two children, 8 and 10 -- after their small boat sank off Indonesia's main island of Java on Saturday. But more than 200 are still missing and feared dead.

"This has been a real catastrophe," freelance journalist Paul Wallis told CTV News Channel from Sydney, Australia. "The conditions in those waters are very unpredictable."

He said the traditional fishing boat was about the size of three SUVs tied together -- "essentially a wooden boat with an engine on it" -- and four busloads of people on board had been hoping to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island to seek asylum.

The small boat carrying about 250 refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Turkey sank about 32 kilometres off Java in a severe storm. The boat, which was carrying more than double its capacity, was hit by a 3-metre wave.

Shortly after the boat broke apart and sank, Jambe, a 25-year-old fisherman, noticed dark spots in the water. When he went to investigate, he found more than 100 terrified and exhausted survivors clinging to debris from the boat.

"They were all fighting, scrambling to get into my boat," he told The Associated Press, adding that while he only had room for 10, he and his crew lifted 25 people into his boat.

He is haunted by those he left behind.

"I'm so sad ... I feel so guilty, but there were just too many of them," said Jambe, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. "I was worried if we took any more we'd sink, too."

One of the survivors, a 30-year-old Afghani named Khadzim Huzen said that after the big wave hit the boat and tipped it into the water, everyone rushed to the front where a fight broke out for life jackets.

There were only 25 life jackets, he said, and nine already had been taken by the crew.

"In the end, as everything was being swallowed up by the water, we just grabbed hold of anything we could," he said. "We formed small groups in the water and tried to help each other stay afloat."

Two of the survivors were children, aged 8 and 10, who were found five hours after the sinking, clinging to debris.

"It's really a miracle they made it," said Kelik Enggar Purwanto, a member of the search and rescue team.

The severe weather continued to hamper rescue efforts Sunday and the four fishing boats, two helicopters and a navy ship out on the water were battling 4-metre-high waves and strong currents.

"They have scoured an 80-kilometre radius but haven't found anything," said Lt. Alwi Mudzakir, a maritime police officer.

Indonesia's 18,000 islands and thousands of kilometres of unpatrolled coastline make it an ideal transfer point for smuggling migrants.

With files from The Associated Press