JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Migrants found alive in refrigerated truck on Dutch-UK ferry

Migrants found alive in refrigerated truck on Dutch-UK ferry

Wednesday, November 20, 2019, 09:54 GMT+7
Migrants found alive in refrigerated truck on Dutch-UK ferry
The cargo vessel bound for Felixstowe returned to the Dutch port of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam, as soon as the stowaways were found. Photo: AFP

A ferry crew found 25 migrants in a refrigerated container on a boat sailing from the Netherlands to Britain on Tuesday, emergency services said.

The cargo vessel bound for Felixstowe returned to the Dutch port of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam, as soon as the stowaways were found, they said in a statement.

The people found in the container received medical attention at the port and two were taken to hospital for further treatment for possible hypothermia.

The discovery comes the month after 39 Vietnamese people were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Britain, again laying bare the risks of illegal migrant routes to Europe.

"On board a ship it turned out that several people were found in a cooling container. The ship returned to the harbour," said the Rotterdam region emergency services on Twitter.

"The 25 people were taken off the ship and given the medical care they need. Earlier the message came from the ship that no people died.

"Two people were transported to hospital for extra medical care. Twenty-three people were transferred to a police location after a medical check-up."

DFDS Seaways, which operates the cargo ferry, said that the migrants had come on board on a lorry trailer, De Telegraaf newspaper said.

The driver of the truck had been arrested, it added.

A bus took away the mainly male group, some of whom were wrapped in silver thermal blankets.

Their nationalities were not immediately known.

The mayor of Vlaardingen, Annemiek Jetten, said "more and more" people were trying to cross the Channel and had not been put off by the deaths of the Vietnamese migrants.

"I think people are so desperate that they keep trying, despite the tragic events in the UK not so long ago," Jetten told broadcaster NOS.

She added that it was not clear if more people were trying to get to Britain before immigration laws become tougher after its scheduled exit from the EU next year.

Separately on Tuesday Dutch border police intercepted a bus carrying 65 Moldovan nationals including children who were planning to claim asylum, Dutch media reported.

AFP

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news