Two separate protests involving more than 100 asylum seekers have erupted on Christmas Island, Australia's Immigration Department confirmed on Saturday.

Due to the visiting media, detainees from the Phosphate Hill and Construction Camp detention facilities, which usually house families and minors, made use of the chance and started two separate protests on Friday.

According to an immigration spokesman, the first protest at Phosphate Hill had involved a total of about 15 people, before an estimated 70 people staged a protest at the Construction Camp facility.

The Phosphate Hill protest has lasted for two hours, where some had raised concerns as to whether enough action was taken to rescue the passengers from the boat that crashed into the Christmas Island cliffs and sank on Wednesday.

"Other concerns were raised about food and air conditioning," the spokesman told Australia Associated Press on Saturday.

"It was a peaceful protest, the facility remained calm at all times. There was no damage, there was definitely no riot, there was no breakout as such, they simply came out and said their piece simply because the media were there."

Hours later about 70 detainees staged their protest at the Construction Camp. Detainees held up signs and chanted "Help me, UN" in the protests.

Survivors of the boat tragedy are also taking part and have shown their injuries to media located nearby, Sky News reported.

A total of 2,879 asylum seekers are in detention at the various detention facilities on the Christmas island.

On Wednesday, a boat carrying about 100 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq and Iran, smashed into rocks on the island leaving at least 30 dead.

A search effort is still under way following the boat sinking, but Prime Minister Julia Gillard said there is little hope of finding any more survivors.