Refugee dies after being airlifted to Brisbane from Australian-run camp in PNG

A 27-year-old Sudanese male refugee died in a Brisbane hospital after being airlifted with head injuries from an Australia-funded detention center on Papua New Guinea’s northern island of Manus, the Australian government said Saturday.

The man, named Faysal Ishak Ahmed, reportedly collapsed and suffered a head injury on Thursday and received treatment at the detention centre’s clinic. He was then transferred to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital on Friday.

“The department [of Immigration and Border Protection] is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and expresses its sympathies to his family and friends,” a government statement on the death read.

A statement from Ian Rintoul, a representative of the Sydney-based Refugee Action Coalition, said the campaign group held “grave concerns” for Ahmed’s welfare after announcing his evacuation to Brisbane. He had been held in immigration detention for more than three years, according to the organisation.

The RAC said it was not known whether the emergency is “a result of the head injuries sustained when he collapsed or because of underlying medical conditions that lead to his collapse,” adding that he had suffered numerous blackouts and collapses in recent months.