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Trucker in Ireland Finds 8 Dead Illegal Immigrants Among Cargo
Wednesday, December 5, 2001
(3:46 PM ET)
By Shawn Pogatchnik
The Associated Press

"The people in the container have been assisted in some way, because of the tampering with the seal. They had to be assisted into the container ... but precisely where this happened we don't yet know," Superintendent John Farrelly, a police spokesman, said.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- AP
Hearing faint pounding and moaning, an Irish trucker discovered the bodies of eight would-be refugees and five people clinging to life in his cargo Saturday. Police said they would mount a Europe-wide hunt for the human traffickers thought to be responsible.

It was the first mass fatality involving asylum-seekers in Ireland, which in recent years has been targeted by rings that smuggle people from poorer countries. Police said they weren't sure of the victims' nationalities but were interviewing a 17-year-old survivor who spoke Turkish. Among the dead were two small children.

The deaths highlighted the great risks that many people run in their efforts to evade police to enter western European countries illegally. Like others, Ireland has tightened its security at ports of entry and toughened deportation laws to try to stem the human tide.

"Those involved in the cruel trade of trafficking in human beings have perpetrated yet another atrocity on the victims of their greed," said Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.
(More: The Nando Times News Source)
2001 © The Associated Press.

Dan