11 stranded fishermen rescued after week without food or water, 8 feared dead at sea after powerful cyclone hits Australia

Eight Indonesian fishermen are feared drowned and another 11 have been rescued after spending almost a week without food or water on a barren island off the northwest Australian coast in the wake of a powerful tropical cyclone, authorities said Wednesday.

Two primitive wooden Indonesian fishing boats were caught in the path of Cyclone Ilsa, which made landfall Friday as Australia's most powerful storm in eight years, with winds gusting at an apparent record of 180 miles per hour.

One of the boats, Putri Jaya, sank in "extreme weather conditions" early on April 12 while Ilsa was gathering strength over the Indian Ocean and heading toward the coast, Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement, citing survivors.