A 20-metre-long unfinished escape tunnel has been discovered at an immigration detention centre in Western Australia, refugee advocates say. The nascent tunnel – dug three metres underground – was found on Monday morning, built underneath an accommodation block in Falcon compound of the Yongah Hill detention centre. Reminiscent of world war two efforts by prisoners of war seeking to escape, it is not the first time attempts have been made to breach detention centre compounds. Nearly 20 years ago, 23 asylum seekers escaped by tunnelling out of the Villawood detention centre in suburban Sydney. The average length of time spent in Australian immigration detention is now 627 days.

Source: The Guardian May 11, 2021 04:11 UTC