"At 6:22 a.m. on Tuesday (December 12), Dorset police received a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm. Officers are conducting inquiries into the circumstances of the incident. The coroner’s office has been notified of the death," stated a Dorset police spokesperson to U.K. media, including the Associated Press (AP) news agency, on Tuesday.

The Bibby Stockholm barge is thought to have been housing about 300 migrants at the time of the man’s death.

The left-leaning Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday evening that the man was believed to be in his 20s and is understood to have been found by one of his roommates.

Britain's new Home Secretary (Interior Minister) James Cleverly has promised a "full investigation" into the death.

Cause of death not yet confirmed

Although the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, many UK media sources have been reporting that the man took his own life. The chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, called the news of the death "tragic" in a Tuesday Guardian column.

Also read: Housing asylum seekers in the UK is costing £8 million per day

"While we do not yet know the reasons behind this sad death or the background of the individual involved, the lives of very traumatized people are at stake," wrote Solomon. "Lives that are so fragile. Lives that have had to cope with unimaginable adversity."

Solomon said that for many housed on the barge "there has been a heightened sense of dread and distress compounded by the feelings of isolation and being moored on the sea. There have been rumors they will be the first to be deported, or that the barge will start moving during the night to transport them to a different country."

'Medical support minimal' for those on board

The government has said previously that all the due safety provisions are in place to protect people on the barge. However, Solomon said that the "medical support" for those on the barge was "minimal." He said although there is a nurse on site, there is no daily access to mental health support.

Also read: Asylum seekers in the UK face dire conditions, say Human Rights Watch

In fact, said Solomon, "across the asylum system access to therapeutic help is very limited." Solomon said that many asylum seekers "regularly experience panic attacks, flashbacks, chronic insomnia and serious anxiety. Some feel so unsafe they self-harm or are suicidal."

Solomon notes that in September, a 37-year-old man was found to have killed himself in a hotel housing people seeking asylum in the northern city of Wakefield.

"Hostility is built into our asylum system, premised on the belief held by successive governments that the more stark, austere and minimal it is, the less likely it is people will want to come," writes Solomon. "Treating people well is seen as a 'pull factor' for asylum seekers, even though there is no credible evidence to support this."

Refugee council: UK asylum policy 'reached new extremes'

Solomon writes that these attitudes have reached "a new extreme" during Rishi Sunak’s premiership, citing the example of former migration minister Robert Jenrick ordering cartoons in a reception center for children to be painted over "because he thought they were too welcoming and sent the wrong message."

Also read: Backlog of asylum applications in UK reaches record high

The capacity of the Bibby Stockholm barge has doubled from 200 occupants to nearly 500, said Solomon. "It is a further manifestation of a desire to provide the mere basics," he said.

Solomon said he feels that "basic decency and humanity" has been lost in the British asylum system. He said that "those on board the Bibby Stockholm brave enough to speak out have said they feel like 'victims of a game' played by politicians." Solomon points out that if it is a game, it has "appalling human consequences."

'Increasing tensions'

One source told the Guardian that there had been "increasing tensions" on board the vessel as more and more asylum seekers were moved on board. Some people from the barge were reportedly involved in an incident in the nearby town of Weymouth on Saturday night, which the Guardian writes "may have been related to the death."

One resident on board told the Guardian that there were also tensions between staff and asylum seekers on board. "It takes a long time to get in and out and we have to be checked and scanned everywhere we go," said the unnamed asylum seeker. "But we are not criminals, we are here looking for safety."

The man added that "some staff are rude to us," and that "the man who died was very unhappy."

Also read: First asylum seekers move on to divisive barge in the UK

Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the barge should now be closed with immediate effect, reported the Guardian.

Wrack, who calls himself "a self-described socialist" on his X profile (formerly known as Twitter), already criticized safety on board the vessel over the summer.

"While the circumstances surrounding the death are not yet known, there are still very real safety concerns about forcibly keeping people on board a floating prison," Wrack said. "Ministers must end this barbaric practice immediately."

Also read: Delays beset government plans for migrant accommodation

Another asylum seeker on the barge said he wasn’t surprised by a death on board.

"This death has not come as a surprise to any of us. People taking their lives is a predictable result of the Home Office’s policy of putting people on the barge. The longer they keep us here, the more I can see everyone’s mental health deteriorating."

The man said he had a simple message for the Home Office.

"How many people need to die before you realize the mistakes you have made with the way you treat asylum seekers?"

With AFP, Reuters, Press Association

If you are suffering from serious emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to seek professional help. You can find information on where to find such help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website.

In the UK, the National Suicide Prevention Helpline offers help in all languages and can be called for free at 0800 689 5652.