Tamil migrant boy separated from father

A young boy who arrived on the the Sri Lankan cargo ship carrying refugee claimants last week has been separated by authorities from his father, B.C. officials confirm.

The Ministry for Children and Family Development says the boy and his father were not allowed to remain together, unlike mothers and their children whocame to Vancouver Island aboard the MV Sun Sea.

The 25 mothers and 54 children are being held together at the Burnaby Youth Detention Centre and have been among the first to go through detention hearings this week.

But the same rules don't apply to a father and his son, believed to be about seven years old, who were among the 492 people who arrived on the ship in Esquimalt, B.C., on Friday.

The father is being held at a B.C. corrections facility in Surrey.

"Safety and security considerations did not permit the secure detention of a single father together with his child," a ministry spokesperson said late Wednesday.

Telephone contact possible

An unconfirmed report said the boy is under the temporary care of another female refugee claimant who has a small child.

Majula Selvarajah, of the Canadian Tamil Congress, said her organization is concerned about the boy, but relieved he might be with familiar faces rather than in the care of the ministry.

"The child is best served by being with their father," Selvarajah said. "But I would think the second-best solution would be someone else that they have grown to be familiar with over the last 90 days on the boat."

Telephone contact between father and child might be allowed soon, the ministry spokesperson said.

The Canada Border Services Agency, whichdecides where detainees are held, did not respond to CBC News requests for an interview.

Immigration officials are working their way through initial hearings for the ship's passengers and crew.

The number of claimants appearing could not be confirmed late Wednesday, but officials had said they hoped to complete processing on 100 by the end of the day.

Most of those processed have been ordered detained for at least seven days before a second hearing as officials try to confirmtheir identities.