Riot police stormed the centre with tear gas yesterday after others joined the unrest and began setting small fires around the complex, building barricades and threatening to use weapons, the government says.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says federal police used "reasonable force", saying they responded appropriately including to an an inmate said to have had a chainsaw.
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"I think people need to recognise we are dealing here with outlaw motorcycle gang members, people who have been involved in extortion and other serious criminal offences," he told ABC radio.
Federal Labor is demanding an independent inquiry into the riot.
Image of the damage caused by the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre disturbance. Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Opposition spokesman Richard Marles says there are serious questions about the government's handling of what it initially labelled "a disturbance".
"We need to know that appropriate security is in place at the centre and staff are adequately trained to deal with detainees, including those that have had visas cancelled," he said on Wednesday.
Criminal charges could be laid against detainees who took part in the riot, with the unrest causing more than a million dollars worth of damage.
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
The riot was sparked after a small group of Iranian detainees staged a protest over the death of escapee Fazel Chegeni Najad, an Iranian Kurdish man, on Sunday.
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
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Tear gas used to end Christmas Island detention centre unrest
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
