Riot at Australian immigration center

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, Australia, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Rioting by 150 Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum-seekers at Australia's Christmas Island detention center left 37 injured, authorities say.

The bloody fight, which began at 10:30 p.m. AEDT Saturday and lasted 30 minutes, featured assailants attacking one another with tree branches, broom handles and pool cues, The Australian reported.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Australian Federal Police are investigating the incident. There are 969 people at the Christmas Island center, which is designed to hold 1,088 people.

"There's massive overcrowding now on Christmas Island, but you have to wonder what sort of management or discipline is in place in the centre if you have 150 people brawling," opposition Liberal Party spokeswoman Sharman Stone said.

Afghans make up the majority of asylum-seekers granted visas in 2009 -- some within 60 days. Asylum claims for Tamils are stalled, The Australian said.

"The problem is the Australian government is using the Sri Lankan embassy for security checks and identity checks," Pamela Curr of the Asylum Seeker Resource Center said. "The Sri Lankan embassy are spitting bile about the Tamils. This is the way they can get at them: they go in slow, they don't release the information."