Christmas Island

The transfer takes the number of detainees sent to the maximum-security Casuarina Prison to 20.

Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection would not confirm how many of those who had been transferred were New Zealanders.

The Christmas Island riot was inevitable given the influx of criminals joining the general asylum seeker population at the detention centre, says a former Australian immigration insider.

Trouble broke out at the centre, which is operated by Serco, early on Monday after the death of an asylum seeker who had escaped.

The facility houses both asylum seekers and New Zealanders with criminal records awaiting deportation.

Armed guards have entered the Christmas Island detention centre to take back control from a group of rioting detainees, the Labour Party says.

The centre houses both asylum-seekers and New Zealanders with criminal records awaiting deportation.

Trouble broke out at the centre in the early hours of yesterday morning after the death of an asylum seeker who had escaped.

The facility houses both asylum seekers and New Zealanders awaiting deportation.