Secret footage of refugee rescue struggle

AFGHAN refugees struggling in the ocean in the aftermath of an explosion aboard their vessel off Ashmore reef in April this year were allegedly kicked and fended off by Australian Defence Force members as they tried to climb aboard inflatable rescue boats.

Well-placed sources who have seen footage of the early-morning disaster say asylum-seekers were repelled from RHIBs, or rigid-hulled inflatable boats, in scenes they describe as "distressing" and "inhumane".

But in a statement to The Weekend Australian, the Defence Department, which did not directly address the question of repelling people off boats, said the priority of the rescue parties was to attend to their own personnel, who had been blown into the sea after the suspected illegal entry vessel, known as SIEV 36, exploded.

"The priority for recovery of personnel from the water once a mass safety of life at sea is declared is ADF personnel," the statement said.

"In accounting for, or recovering all ADF personnel first, the unit is more readily able to regroup and assist with the rescue operation with all available hands."

Footage of the rescue was taken by the ADF and is now in the hands of Northern Territory police and the Coroner, Greg Cavanagh, who is overseeing the investigation into the deaths of five asylum-seekers.

The footage has not been made public.

It is not known if any of those who were repelled from the RHIBs were among the dead.

Defence said yesterday that crews from HMAS Childers and Albany recovered all survivors "within about 15 minutes" from the time of the explosion, which occurred at 8.15am (AEST). A source said there had been "no kicking or punching".

"There is no evidence to suggest that any inappropriate actions took place at all," the source said.

"On the contrary, the rescue was carried out swiftly."

It has also been alleged that crew of the Albany, which intercepted SIEV 36 at 9.30am on the morning of April 15, ordered the asylum-seekers to sit on the deck of SIEV 36 in full sun, after which the Albany spent the remainder of the day towing the boat in figure- eights off Ashmore Reef.

It is alleged this left the asylum-seekers "confused and feeling sick".

In response to the towing claim, Defence said: "Under the Defence (Inquiry) Regulations Act, Defence is not able to comment on the specific allegations without ministerial approval."

A Defence source conceded there was a delay in determining how to deal with the boat and the people on board, but insisted that "nobody on board the boat was at risk" and the boat was considered seaworthy.

Sources said the footage, which has not been sighted by The Weekend Australian, did not paint the ADF rescue in a positive light.

"They're on this RHIB and they start kicking these people to stop them climbing on to this RHIB," said a source.

"People say that's what they're trained to do. But they don't throw them a line immediately, they don't do anything."

Another source said the footage was "open to interpretation", saying that while it might look bad, the "ADF were most interested in first rescuing their own. Some of them (ADF) were struggling in the water wearing heavy kit".

A further source said: "There is a stench about this case and we all knew it from day one.

"It's funny, isn't it, that a week or two after this happened, the ADF started throwing out life vests to people on boats (during illegal vessel seizures). "This will not go down as one of our most glorious hours."

Asked if it was reviewing its procedures in the wake of SIEV36, the Defence spokesperson said: "A Defence inquiry was conducted into the incident to establish the facts and review operating procedures. The outcomes of this inquiry cannot be disclosed until the NT Police and Coroner's Office have completed their investigation".

It added that Defence "does not provide details on its procedures for apprehension of illegal vessels but remains a party to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention and the UN Convention Relating to the Protection of Refugees".

On the question of issuing life jackets, Defence said it depended on whether a SIEV was seaworthy when it was intercepted and the "ability of the patrol vessel to carry a significant number of life preservers while not knowing potential numbers contained on SIEV's until interception".

Five Afghans - believed to be Awaz Nader, 50, Baquer Husani, 26, Mohammed Amen Zamen, 38, Mohammed Hasan Ayobi, 45 and Muzafar Ali Safarali, 45 - were killed either at the point of explosion or drowned afterwards. Two of the bodies were never recovered.

The police were given these names from fellow asylum-seekers, but they have had difficulty matching them to the bodies. They have gone to interstate agencies for help in what one police officer said was a new method of body identification.

It is not known if any of those who were repelled from the RHIBs were among the dead. The RHIBs, which in standard deployments are manned by six armed ADF personnel, are able to carry 15 people or more.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said he was frustrated with the pace of the NT investigation, because the asylum-seekers could not be processed for visas until it was known what part, if any, they had played in the cause of the explosion.

The Weekend Australian understands the delays cannot be placed solely at the feet of the NT police.

Not only have there been identification problems and a lack of co-operation from the surviving 44 refugees, who feel they were treated poorly, it is understood police have had to reinterview ADF personnel because their stories have not been consistent.

One of the sources said the day of towing and the lack of information provided had left the asylum-seekers confused and upset.

"The way they treat them isn't humane," the source said. "They park off somewhere and leave them bobbing about in the water, and if you look off somewhere (in footage) you can actually see land.

"They don't take them to land while they make a decision about what they're going to do with them. They just treat them like animals. And then, when the blast did happen, people go flying off into the water everywhere and crying for help."

The commander of the Albany, Barry Learoyd, said upon his return to Darwin the day after the explosion that he had been in control of SIEV36 for 24 hours before it blew. He said at no time were the asylum-seekers informed of what was to happen to them.

"We were keeping them informed of what we were doing with regards to providing medical support, which we did," Commander Learoyd said at the time.

"They had been giving all of the support they needed but certainly we didn't tell them anything about where they were going to be taken. The last piece of information they had was that they were being looked after medically."

He said they had showed no signs of agitation in the previous 24 hours but said something "untoward" occurred aboard SIEV36, which was no longer under tow, shortly before the explosion.

The coroner is expected to hold an inquest into the SIEV36 deaths in February, where the details of the rescue effort will be scrutinised.

Detective Superintendent Peter Bravos said the investigation was "largely complete" but was still awaiting expert reports in relation to victim identification.

The 42 Afghan asylum-seekers are all on the mainland and in a holding pattern. Senator Evans said his department could not process their refugee applications without the police report.

"We are getting to the stage where we would like to get advice from them so we can process the refugee applications from those on the boat," he said.

Two Indonesian crew members have been arrested on people-smuggling charges and are in Darwin's Berrimah Jail.

Additional reporting: Christian Kerr