Chilly reception for 'icebox duo'

Sydney - Two men who say they spent 25 days lost at sea in a giant icebox have asked to stay in Australia on humanitarian grounds, officials said on Friday.

But there was scepticism about their incredible ordeal.

The men, aged 22 and 24 and believed to be from Burma, were spotted by an aerial border patrol floating in shark-infested waters off Australia's far north almost two weeks ago.

They say they jumped into the commercial-sized cooler as their Thai fishing boat sank just before Christmas, and survived for almost a month at sea by drinking rainwater and eating fish regurgitated by passing seabirds.

Immigration officials said the men had indicated they did not want to return home, but would not comment on whether they were seeking asylum.

"They are seeking to remain in Australia but it's not really appropriate to speculate any further than that," he said.

The pair were brought to Australia's mainland this week from the northern islands near where they were found.

Survival experts have questioned the veracity of the men's story, saying only a regular supply of clean, fresh water would have kept them alive - an unlikely prospect in the open sea.