A refugee from Iran has reportedly attempted suicide on Nauru after being rejected for resettlement in the United States.
Australians protest against the Nauru detention centre Photo: AFP
Refugees advocates said the middle-aged woman was pulled from the ocean near Ijuw by other refugees late on Monday night.
Police were said to have attended the scene and the refugee was allowed to return to her camp.
The attempted suicide came after the first day of refugee appointments with US officials to indicate acceptance or rejection for resettlement to the US.
Around 150 refugees had been given appointments with US officials over the next few days.
All Iranians who had appointments on Monday, two single women and a single man, were rejected.
One other Bangladeshi single man was also rejected.
The only nationalities accepted were Nepalese, Rohingyan and Pakistani.
The Refugee Action Coalition said a large contingent of emergency response and security personnel from Australia had been brought onto the island and were deployed in the detention centre in preparation for the appointments.
The rejections and attempted suicide had raised anxieties on the island with many people convinced that no Iranians or Somalis would be accepted, the coalition said.
One-hundred and fifty-five refugees from Nauru had been accepted into the US since the resettlement deal was announced in late 2016, it said.
About 1000 refugees, living in camps and the community, are estimated to be on Nauru, where many have been exiled for five years by Australia.