Australia denies media report on deaths of Indian students

NEW DELHI: The Australian government on Wednesday contested the claims that 54 foreign students, nearly half of them Indians, have died in that country last year saying the reports "did not contain accurate statistics".

Maintaining that the Australian government was working quickly to implement a series of initiatives to improve the security for international students, a statement issued by the Australian High Commission here said "articles on this issue in today's Australian newspapers did not contain accurate statistics about crime-related deaths of international students in Australia".

The statement said the articles referred to the information presented to Australian Parliament in February which simply reflected the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) records deaths for whatever reason (be it accident, illness, or others).

"As DIAC is reliant on others providing advice when a death has occurred, DIAC records should not be used as a basis for determining the number of deaths or the cause of death of international students," it added.