Canberra: Following a strong tropical cyclone, eight Indonesian fishermen are believed to have drowned and another 11 have been rescued after spending six days without food or water on a barren island off the coast of northwest Australia.

The path of Cyclone Ilsa, Australia's strongest storm in eight years, which made landfall on Friday with winds gusting at an apparent record of 289 kilometres per hour, caught two rudimentary wooden Indonesian fishing boats.

In "extreme weather conditions" on April 11 or 12, as Ilsa was gaining strength over the Indian Ocean and moving towards the coast, one of the boats, Putri Jaya, sank, according to a statement from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, citing survivors.

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In the early hours of April 12, the other boat, Express 1, ran aground with 10 men on board on Bedwell Island, a sandy outcrop about 300 kilometres (200 miles) west of the Australian coastal resort town of Broome, according to the authority. The statement claimed that the only known survivor from the Putri Jaya spent 30 hours in the water before coming ashore on the same island.

"They all remained (on Bedwell Island) for six days without food or water before being rescued on Monday night," the authority claimed.

According to Putu Sudayana, head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency in Kupang, the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara, where the fishermen reside in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, the Putri Jaya survivor had tied himself to a fuel can to stay afloat at sea before swimming to the island.

The Australian Border Force, which monitors Australia's northern approaches for smuggling and other illegal activity, spotted the survivors on Monday while flying a routine surveillance mission. 

All 11 were hoisted aboard a rescue helicopter that was launched from Roome in the waning light. The rescue helicopter crew was unable to land on the sand, according to Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation.

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They had to perform winch recoveries, which is a difficult task in and of itself, according to Watt. The crew had to switch to using night vision goggles because the time of day meant that nightfall was upon them when they were performing the rescue.

The Australian Border Force, which monitors Australia's northern approaches for smuggling and other illegal activity, spotted the survivors on Monday while flying a routine surveillance mission. 

All 11 were hoisted aboard a rescue helicopter that was launched from Roome in the waning light. The rescue helicopter crew was unable to land on the sand, according to Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation.

They had to perform winch recoveries, which is a difficult task in and of itself, according to Watt. The crew had to switch to using night vision goggles because the time of day meant that nightfall was upon them when they were performing the rescue.

The survivors were brought to Broome Hospital, where according to a statement from Border Force they were said to "be in good health."

The survivors were taken to Broome Hospital, where according to a statement from Border Force they were said to "be in good health despite their ordeal."

This incident emphasises the risks of travelling in small boats that are not equipped to handle rough seas and bad weather, both of which are frequent in Australia's northern waters, the statement said.

The survivors were flown from Broome to Darwin in the north, where they will then be flown back to Indonesia, according to the statement.

According to a statement from Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the consulate of Indonesia in Darwin requested to meet with the fishermen and offer them assistance. The statement thanked Australian government organisations for their assistance and stated that the consulate would assist in their return.

When asked on Wednesday if there was a search for additional potential survivors, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which oversees searches and rescues in Australian waters, did not immediately respond.

The Rowley Shoals are a collection of three coral reefs, and Bedwell Island is one of them. The only fatalities from Ilsa, which was a maximum Category 5 cyclone when it crossed the Pilbara region coast of Western Australia state southwest of Broome, are anticipated to be the missing Indonesian fishermen.

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The fastest gust ever recorded by Australia's weather bureau equipment was a 289kph gust on an island off the Pilbara coast. The bureau announced Tuesday that the reading surpasses the previous record of 267kph set by Cyclone Ida's wind speed, even though it is still preliminary and needs more analysis.