British authorities have removed asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge on the country's southern coast after finding Legionella bacteria in the water supply, Sky News reported Friday afternoon (August 11).

"Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation," a spokesperson for the UK's ministry of the interior, known as the Home Office, told Sky News. 

The health and welfare of those on board the vessel was the ministry's "utmost priority", the spokesperson said further.

The first asylum seekers had moved into the three-story barge, which can house around 500 people in over 200 bedrooms, only on Monday. More people were expected to arrive to live on the vessel over the coming weeks. 

According to Sky News, all 39 people on board were being disembarked as a "precaution measure" following the discovery of bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires' disease, a serious lung infection.

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) describes the disease as uncommon but "very serious."

Also read: Cruise ship set to house asylum seekers in the Netherlands

What did the government know?

Sky News reported that a result of a routine test of the Bibby Stockholm's water supply done on July 25 -- over two weeks ago -- came back on Monday (August 7) with worrying levels of the bacteria found in it.

This was the same day the first asylum seekers were transferred to the barge.

According to the Home Office spokesperson, none of the asylum seekers who were staying aboard the barge had shown any symptoms of Legionnaires' disease. They were given "appropriate advice and support," the spokesperson said, adding that the disease "does not spread from person to person."

Earlier in the year, when the news broke that the government would be deploying the barge to ease its reliance on expensive hotel accommodation, there were hopes that the transfers would start "at the beginning of the summer."

However, fire services had complained that the barge had not been properly checked for its compliance with safety standards, resulting in a considerable delay of people moving in.

There have been several protests against the Bibby Stockholm mooring in Dorset over the past weeks and months. In 2008, an Algerian man had died on the barge when it was used by the Netherlands to house asylum seekers.

With Reuters