This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/05/two-pregnant-women-found-crammed-in-container-in-essex-port

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
68 people found crammed in lorries in Essex port Children among 68 people found crammed in lorries at Essex port
(34 minutes later)
Fifteen children were among 68 people found crammed into lorries at Harwich international port in Essex. Fifteen children are among the 68 people found crammed into lorries carrying consignments of Polish machines at Harwich international port in Essex.
Seven people – including two pregnant women – were taken to Colchester general hospital after the suspected illegal immigrants were discovered on Thursday night. East of England ambulance service (EEAST) said it assessed all 68 people at the scene. The stowaways – 35 Afghan nationals, 22 Chinese nationals, 10 people from Vietnam and one Russian – were found after a search by Border Force officials. Seven people – including two pregnant women – were taken to Colchester general hospital with abdominal and chest pains after the group was discovered on Thursday night. East of England ambulance service said none were in a life-threatening or serious condition. . The stowaways – 35 Afghan nationals, 22 Chinese nationals, 10 people from Vietnam and one Russian – were found in four lorries which arrived on the Stena Hollandica, a combined freight and passenger ship.
An EEAST ambulance service spokesman said: “The patients who were taken to hospital were suffering from abdominal and chest pains and were feeling faint. None are in a life-threatening or serious condition. The remaining 61 were released to the UK Border Force officials.” The Conservative MP for the area, Bernard Jenkin, who was briefed by the authorities, said: “These people will have been put in a truck a long way from the port they came through in Holland. They will have been in sealed trucks. Some of them were discovered by opening of trucks and having a look; some were found using scanners. But the message I am taking out of this, with the huge increase of people pressing to get into the UK, is that the Border Force is going to need more investment.”
The Home Office said four Polish lorry drivers had been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences in relation to the incident. A spokesman said: “We can confirm Border Force officers discovered 53 adults and 15 children during a proactive search of four lorries that had arrived at Harwich port from Holland on Thursday evening. The 68 people were all in the care of the UK Border Force, while four lorry drivers were being questioned by the Home Office’s criminal investigations team at separate police stations, having been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.
“Seven of those discovered were taken to hospital as a precaution, before being released. All 68 individuals are now in the care of Border Force. Four Polish nationals, who were driving the vehicles, have been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. They have been taken to separate police stations and will now be questioned by the Home Office’s criminal investigations team while inquiries continue.” Migrant groups said that the way in which the people had arrived illustrated their desperation and urged the authorities to give them the opportunity to explain their situation.
Some of those who had been inside the containers were led out of a holding centre at the port shortly after 2pm. They included some men, who appeared to be Chinese and were being held by the arm, in some cases by Border Force officers. Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World UK, which works with migrants in the area around Calais, said: “We need no further evidence that our immigration system is broken when pregnant women feel the need to smuggle themselves into the UK in a locked shipping container.”
They and a number of women boarded at least one Border Force van. An ambulance arrived at the port an hour later and drove through into a restricted area.
Four emergency response volunteers went to the port last night after they were called by the authorities, while two more were there this morning.
“The mood is fairly calm and they are waiting to be processed,” said a Red Cross worker.
“We didn’t know initially where they were from so we just brought down some fresh fruit, water and juice, as well as as tooth brushes and blankets.”
NGOs stressed that the migrants should be given sufficient opportunity to explain their predicament. Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World UK, which works with migrants in the area around Calais, said: “We need no further evidence that our immigration system is broken when pregnant women feel the need to smuggle themselves into the UK in a locked shipping container.
The Migrants’ Rights Network said the stowaways could have asylum claims and that entrapment by people traffickers could be involved.The Migrants’ Rights Network said the stowaways could have asylum claims and that entrapment by people traffickers could be involved.
The organisation’s director, Don Flynn, said: “It is common to find that very basic issues on matters of human rights are central to these events of people smuggling and we need to ensure that that the UK authorities take this fully into account.” The organisation’s director, Don Flynn, said: “It is common to find that very basic issues on matters of human rights are central to these events of people-smuggling and we need to ensure that the UK authorities take this fully into account.”
A spokesman for the port said the stowaways were discovered on vehicles that had arrived on the Stena Hollandica, a combined freight and passenger ship, which carries up to 1,200 passengers and 230 cars. The 240-metre vessel has a cinema and casino on board. But Jenkin urged the prime minister to be tougher on immigration.
A spokeswoman for Stena Line said: “We can confirm that four different lorries carrying 68 clandestines were stopped by Border Force at Harwich international port last night as they disembarked from the Stena Hollandica.” He said more migrants could have entered the same way as most vehicles were not checked. “We have a problem with how our asylum rules are worked, subject to the Human Rights Act, European rules and that sort of thing,” he said.
She said the ship left the Hook of Holland at 2.15pm and arrived in Harwich at 7.45pm on Thursday. Jenkin described the discovery as “a very big success” for the Border Force: “This is one of the biggest, if not one of the biggest single finds of clandestines coming into the UK in this fashion. It’s bigger than anything found in Dover or any other ports.”
Essex police said they were contacted by EEAST at 10.15pm on Thursday but that Border Force was taking the lead as the incident related to immigration offences. The Stena Hollandica carries up to 1,200 passengers and 230 cars and has a cinema and casino on board.
Harwich is a busy freight and passenger port. On Friday, yellow-vested drivers could be seen occasionally checking the back of their vehicles in parking areas to which access by the public is restricted. It left the Hook of Holland at 2.15pm and arrived in Harwich at 7.45pm on Thursday.
In February last year, two immigrants, Albanians Artur Doda, 24, and Leonard Isufaj, 27, died after leaping off a passenger ferry into the North Sea to try to swim 500 metres back to shore after being deported from Harwich. They were being sent back to the Hook of Holland after arriving with 13 other stowaways hidden in a lorry on a freight ferry at Harwich five hours previously. The British Red Cross said staff and volunteers were responding to the immediate needs of the migrants, providing practical and emotional support, as well as blankets, food and hygiene packs to those affected. At the
busy freight and passenger port on Friday, yellow-vested drivers could be seen occasionally checking the back of their vehicles in parking areas to which public access is restricted.
In February last year, two immigrants died after leaping off a passenger ferry into the North Sea to try to swim 500 metres back to shore after being deported from Harwich. Artur Doda, 24, and Leonard Isufaj, 27, both from Albania, were being sent back to the Hook of Holland after arriving with 13 other stowaways in a lorry on a freight ferry at Harwich.
In August last year, 35 immigrants were discovered in a container at Tilbury Docks, also in Essex. One of them, 40-year-old Meet Singh Kapoor, from Afghanistan, was found dead. Later the same month, one person was taken to hospital after 13 people were found in the back of a lorry at the Dartford Crossing in Kent.In August last year, 35 immigrants were discovered in a container at Tilbury Docks, also in Essex. One of them, 40-year-old Meet Singh Kapoor, from Afghanistan, was found dead. Later the same month, one person was taken to hospital after 13 people were found in the back of a lorry at the Dartford Crossing in Kent.
Last month, David Cameron announced plans to make “Britain a less attractive place to come and work illegally”, as figures showed that net migration to Britain surged to 318,000 in 2014.Last month, David Cameron announced plans to make “Britain a less attractive place to come and work illegally”, as figures showed that net migration to Britain surged to 318,000 in 2014.