Perth | Thursday
AUTHORITIES on Thursday launched an investigation into a riot by 150 armed detainees at a Western Australian detention centre in which an inmate and a guard were injured.
Illegal immigrants armed with iron bars, sledgehammers and concrete blocks went on a rampage for several hours on Wednesday at the Port Hedland centre in the state’s north-west, officials said.
The riot began when a detainee trying to gain the attention of visiting immigration department officials investigating camp conditions toppled from a tree.
The man, whose name or nationality have not been released, was airlifted 1 770 kilometres to Royal Perth Hospital with head injuries.
A hospital representative said on Thursday he was in a ”critical but stable” condition in the intensive care unit.
The man fell on a guard, who was also injured, reportedly with a broken rib, but was not taken to hospital.
An immigration department representative said after the fall about 150 detainees went on the rampage, smashing an accommodation block and hurling chunks of concrete at staff.
A group of between 20 and 30 inmates armed with sledgehammers, steel bars and concrete blocks continued the standoff with guards and police until late on Wednesday night, he said.
The centre was quiet on Thursday after detainees agreed to surrender their arms and return to their quarters, he added.
The Port Hedland trouble erupted as a small group of armed inmates defied authorities for a fifth day at the Curtin centre, near Derby, north of Port Hedland, where more than 50 staff and detainees are reported to have been injured.
There were no reports on Thursday of fresh trouble at Curtin.
Police said the Port Hedland rioters had broken into a garden shed inside the centre and used tools there to break concrete into blocks to use as weapons.
Port Hedland mayor, Brett Rudler, criticised the government for sending illegal immigrants to the centre who had had applications to stay in Australia rejected while they were in the Woomera centre, in South Australia.
The Woomera centre has been the scene of riots, hunger strikes and numerous protests including self-mutilation over recent months.
Rudler blamed the Woomera contingent for sparking the Port Hedland trouble, saying it was the last straw and demanding ”troublemakers” be removed immediately.
”We have no problems with this being a processing centre for illegal immigrants, but as soon as they go to appeal they should be relocated to a multi-purpose detention centre that houses the troublemakers until their appeals are dealt with,” he said.
Acting Immigration Minister Chris Ellison has said detainees causing trouble would be dealt with in the courts. – Sapa-AFP