23 migrants found in refrigerated lorry at Zeebrugge
Twenty-three migrants were discovered in a refrigerated lorry at the Port of Zeebrugge on Thursday. The migrants had hoped to gain illegal access to the UK.
The migrants, Eritreans and Sudanese nationals including three women, were found during unloading. They are all safe and sound.
The Governor of West Flanders, Carl Decaluwé, has called for urgent action and stricter checks at the port: “If the lorry hadn’t been unloaded, the migrants would have left for the UK. Their fate would have been the same as that of the 39 Vietnamese found dead in a refrigerated lorry exactly three months ago.“
“It’s the second time this week that there has been a close call. First in De Panne (where migrants had to abandon a sinking small boat) and now in Zeebrugge.”
The governor appealed to the federal government for more cash and staff.