Man flees Melbourne detention centre

A Vietnamese national has fled a Melbourne detention centre.

The man escaped from the Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre earlier on Monday, sparking a search of the area.

Police were alerted and are working with the immigration department and the detention centre to find him, a department spokeswoman said.

"The department has asked for a full report on the incident from the service provider," she said.

The department has also referred the matter for investigation to the Detention Assurance Team which monitors detention centre standards.