Australia defends decision to leave asylum-seekers' bodies in ocean

The question is, did they try to go back and recover the bodies later?

Can't do that.......

Pick up the bodies and bill whatever the country of origin.

Or leave the bodies. Who cares? You're either dead and atheistic, in which case what happens to your body is irrelevant, or you're dead and religious, in which case you're in heaven, hell or a new incarnation, and what happens to your body is also irrelevant. I never understood the fuss about lifeless bodies.

Nessie, say that about say your OWN family and or friends too?? I doubt it! These dead bodies deserve to be taken out of the sea and cremated etc..not just left for sharks. SHAME on Australia!

Nessie: There are a large reasons why the bodies should be picked up, both from a moral standpoint and a physical one. If they washed up later, bloated and rotting, on Christmas Island, it could present the threat of disease. As for morally, the "Hmmm... glad it's not me" approach while flying away isn't a very humane way to see things. I'm all with you in the "when we're dead, we're dead" idea, and I don't really give a farthing what happens to me when I'm gone, but for others to do nothing is a little bit much.

Australian taxpayers a re already spending hundreds of millions of dollars patrolling for,apprehending,processing ,housing, feeding,giving medical attention,legal rep, background checks etc. Now add diverting overstretched resources to find corpses of what are essentially illegal immigrants who knowingly risk lives for economic gain? What then, pay for repatriation? Most pass through Indon.not perfect, but it IS safe for them. It's a huge tragedy, but there are realities to consider.

Seems that the priority was, quite rightly, on saving lives. Some of you think that it would have been better to use their limited resources to recover bodies at the expense of saving lives? I don't understand that.

One other thing I don't understand; why do some immigrant groups such as the Tamils find the need to form a "Congress" which has an "executive officer" talking about how "we" would not have done that. Doesn't seem like he has integrated into the country at all and prefers to remain in a separate community; not uncommon.

Considering the population of Christmas Island is about 1,500 people I don`t think the bodies washing up on shore is a concern. Likely they will be fish food. I agree that the rescue teams should focus on the living and risking life and limb to pick up these bodies is a luxury, not a necessity.

What were they? Kiwis?

I don't think too many, if any, are thinking survivors is not the priority, but when they realized there were no survivors did they go back to look for the bodies?

Nessie, say that about say your OWN family and or friends too?? I doubt it!

Absolutely, I say it about them and about myself. The only tragedy would be my organs not being donated. The body is just the body. That should be something everyone can agree on. Or everyone who's not expecting to be reanimated as a zombie.

These dead bodies deserve to be taken out of the sea and cremated etc..not just left for sharks.

I would gladly donate my body as shark food. Shark populations are crashing.

Nessie: There are a large reasons why the bodies should be picked up, both from a moral standpoint and a physical one. If they washed up later, bloated and rotting, on Christmas Island, it could present the threat of disease.

A trivial risk considering everything that washes up already. We're talking about a few dozen bodies, most of which won't make it to shore.

for others to do nothing is a little bit much

For others to go and search for survivors is exactly enough.

Australia gets trashed over immigration,but I can't think of another Pacific rim country doing ANYTHING like Aus. does in terms of facilitating immigration, not to mention refugee claims and asylum seekers.How many have been accepted by Japan,Singapore, Malaysia etc? All developed economies.Just asking...

The Tamils were classed as..... Rebels.... in Their Home Country.... They Should Be Thankful, They Are Now Living In Australia...... It is a Sad fact of Using Illegal Entry Methods Is the Risk the Refugees are taking With Their Lives Traveling in Boats Not Fit for The Journey..... By those That are only Interested in Taking Their Money. The people Behind, People Smuggling, should Be Found and Charged With Manslaughter. In the First Degree In Indonesia Where they Would Get The Death Sentence. Or Whatever Country Their Assembly point was. That country Has the Responsibility of Carrying out the Law for These Deaths Not Australia or Its Government. Life on the High seas in unseaworthy boats Is not the Way to Enter a country. When other Methods are available by contacting Immigration.

Australia is becoming laughing stock as navy has to perform life guard duties for sea unworthy ships. One rescue operation for each ship cost $40000 according their media. How long or how much can they afford to accept those opportunists. Real refugee could not afford to pay that expensive fee to people smuggler. In my opinion, their government is soft as jelly. They need someone who is touch & committed for stopping never ending human wave. If not, Australia will be always paradise for people smugglers.

For the record, corpses do NOT pose a health risk. This comes straight from the Red Cross: <>http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/health-bodies-140110.htm<>

@ Elbuda Mexicano

Nessie, say that about say your OWN family and or friends too?? I doubt it! These dead bodies deserve to be taken out of the sea and cremated etc..not just left for sharks. SHAME on Australia

Yes everybody needs to be buried but don't throw stones at your glass window Mexico does nothing about their own!

@Elbuda Mexicano and what is mexico doing to try and stop the 5000+ drug murders each year!?, are they trying to retrieve the decapitated heads from the corpses!?

The only reason for recovering the bodies would be for identification purposes so relatives could be notified of their fate.

Hiding behind the "we put saving lives at a higher priority" statement is a cop-out. It implies the ONLY personnel Australia has that can pull a body out of the water are rescue personnel. This is not the case and Australia's PM knows it.

If anyone knows anything about the waters around Christmas Island - which are unbelievably dangerous and rough at all times - they'd understand why the Royal Australian Navy took the decision not to attempt to recover corpses. There is a high probability sailors would die. Rest in peace to these men.

As for the few Tamils critical of Australia - luckily most Sri Lankans in Australia are grateful and realize how much australia is doing for these boatpeople, in terms of accepting around 95% as refugees, providing a safe haven, and housing most of them within australian communities. It would be great if a few other first-world rich nations in the asia-pacific followed suit and helped out too.

If they washed up later, bloated and rotting, on Christmas Island, it could present the threat of disease.

That is actually not true, the WHO has repeatedly stated that dead bodies don't pose a health risk, they are not source of disease.

Australia is learning that no good deed goes unpunished.

Seems to me that the people who allow overloaded boats should be harshly dealt with.

Not much too defend. Anybody out at sea, try to help your fellow human, this is just wrong!!