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Asylum seekers' injuries horrific Australia PM furious at smugglers
(about 5 hours later)
More than 30 asylum seekers injured in a boat explosion have now arrived on the Australian mainland. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has branded people smugglers as "scum" who should "rot in hell".
Their burns have been likened to those witnessed in the Bali bombings. His comments come one day after an explosion aboard a boat carrying Afghan asylum seekers killed at least three people and injured dozens more.
The opposition has said the fatal explosion was directly linked to what it called the Rudd government's softened immigration policies. The cause of the blast remains unknown, but some MPs have suggested it may have been deliberate, to avoid deportation.
Three people have been confirmed dead and two are still missing from the boat carrying 47 people, mainly thought to be from Afghanistan. The asylum seekers were being escorted to have their claims processed on an offshore island at the time.
So severe are some of the burns that doctors in Perth, Western Australia, have compared them to those they treated in the aftermath of the Bali bombings of 2002. The surviving asylum seekers have now been flown to hospitals in Australia.
Five of the asylum seekers injured in the boat explosion are on life support, and doctors have grave fears for at least two of them. The death toll from the blast is likely to rise, because two people are still missing at the explosion site and five others are on life support.
The small fishing boat exploded and sank after being intercepted by the navy. Some of the burns are so severe that doctors in Perth have compared them to those they treated in the aftermath of the Bali bombings.
It was carrying 47 asylum seekers trying to make it to Australia, mainly Afghan men, it is thought, with ages ranging from the early teens to the early forties. Advertisement
Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett says refugees doused the boat with petrol Asylum seekers' injuries horrific
Border security has long been a sensitive political issue in Australia, and the opposition has claimed there is a direct link between the explosion and the decision of the Rudd government to relax certain immigration laws. 'Lowest form of life'
The boast was the sixth to be intercepted by the Australian navy this year, and the number of asylum seekers is already higher than it was in the previous 12 months. Speaking on Friday, Mr Rudd issued a withering verdict on those who traffic people across borders.
People smugglers were taking advantage of immigration laws which have been softened, according to the opposition. "People smugglers are the vilest form of human life because they trade on the tragedy of others," he said.
The government has blamed the recent surge on the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, along with the global economic downturn. "We've seen this lowest form of human life at work in what we saw on the high seas yesterday."
It accused the opposition of politicizing the issue, though it has conceded that some of its strategies and procedures might need to come under review. Mr Rudd refused to speculate on the cause of Thursday's explosion, citing ongoing investigations.
Asylum seekers were held on Nauru under the "Pacific Solution"
But the premier of Western Australia said the boat was doused with fuel before the explosion, suggesting the blast could have been an attempt to prevent deportation.
The explosion has heightened debate among Australian politicians about how to combat the increasing problem of people looking for refuge in the country.
This is the sixth boat carrying asylum seekers to enter Australian waters this year. The number of people arriving in this way already totals more than 250 this year - a significant increase from the total of 179 refugees intercepted during the whole of 2008.
Australia's opposition has linked this upsurge with a relaxation of the country's immigration policy since Kevin Rudd became prime minister in late 2007.
The Rudd government scrapped the widely-criticised policy of his predecessor, John Howard, under which asylum seekers and their children were detained for years in special centres in Nauru or Papua New Guinea, a plan labelled the "Pacific Solution".
Asylum-seekers now arriving by boat are held on Christmas Island, but their claims must be expedited, with six-monthly case reviews by an ombudsman now government policy.
Mr Rudd defended his policy on Friday, saying: "We are dedicating more resources to combat people smuggling than any other government in Australian history."
Australia's government has blamed the recent surge on the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, along with the global economic downturn, and accuses the opposition of politicising the issue.