ALP seeks independent inquiry into riot on Christmas Island

The immigration department says all areas of the facility are now under “full and effective control” after negotiations with the detainees.

Dutton said there were 203 people in the detention centre, one of three facilities – along with others on Manus Island and Nauru – that hold migrants who failed to reach the Australian mainland.

Mr Dutton told 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley on Thursday that assessments of the damage now suggested a much higher figure.

“The initial figure that we looked at in the opening hours was over a million dollars”.

Christmas Island Shire president Gordon Thomson stated Mr Chegeni Najad died from injuries sustained when he fell into a pit as he ran through the dark after jumping the centre fence.

Labour corrections spokesman Kelvin Davis – who visited the island recently and is in contact with a number of detainees – said the men inside were bracing for a fight.

“Some [asylum seekers] have had an extreme threat assessment worked up and that’s as a result of their own behaviour”, he said during a radio interview, where he stressed that an individual risk profile is worked out for each detainee.

The unrest began late when a protest was staged by a bunch of Iranian prisoners in regards to an Iranian Kurd, Fazel Chegeni’s passing.

Police are investigating the cause of death, but Dutton, who was unable to confirm reports that the body was found at the base of a cliff, said he had been advised there were no suspicious circumstances. “I’ve explained that to my counterparts in New Zealand and we have made it very clear to the detainees as well”, he said.

“There’s no medication for people that need medication because apparently they broke into that too”.

A few detainees told the broadcaster ABC by phone that they had barricaded themselves into a building as they feared the rioting detainees could attack them.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection described the incident as a “major disturbance”, but denied there was a large scale riot.

The detainees, who were hand-cuffed and claim they are from New Zealand are being transported to a correctional facility in Western Australia.

More would follow as the government was determined to bring the perpetrators of the damage to justice, he said.