SASR Deployed
The Australian government then responded by dispatching Australian troops (SASR) led by squadron commander Major Vance Khan, under Colonel Gus Gilmore, to board the ship and prevent it from approaching any closer to Christmas Island.
The SASR doctor later reported that the rescuees were generally dehydrated, malnourished and unhappy. Many were suffering from dehydration, exhaustion and minor ailments including sixty one cases of scabies, forty six of head lice, twenty four of gastroenteritis. They also attended to four pregnant women.
There were some disputes between the SASR and the ship's medical officer Christian Maltau, a deck officer with limited medical experience, regarding the deployment of medical supplies from the Tampa, and the use of the limited supplies of water. In one incident, the ship's officer turned off the ship's water supply while rescuees were being washed after an outbreak of diarrhoea. Several Australian soldiers also contracted diarrhoea during the boarding episode.
Captain Arne Rinnan anchored approximately four nautical miles off Christmas Island. Shortly afterwards the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, reported the boarding of the ship to the Australian Parliament.
Read more about this topic: Tampa Affair