Coroner says Christmas Island tragedy was ‘foreseeable’
On 23 February 2012 the Western Australian State Coroner, Alastair Hope, delivered the ‘Christmas Island Tragedy’ inquest findings. The findings pertain to the death of 50 asylum seekers, who died in the coastal sea territory of Christmas Island on 15 December 2010. The deceased were on board a vessel identified by Australian authorities as Suspected Irregular Entry Vessel 221 (‘SIEV 221’). The Coroner reported that the event involved the largest peacetime loss of human life in a maritime incident in Australian waters in 115 years.