Irish police officials are currently investigating how 14 individuals were able to arrive at an Irish port from Belgium concealed inside a shipping container.
The discovery of the migrants, which included two young girls aged six and four, was made on a refrigerated trailer on a truck at Rosslare Europort on January 8th. According to a report from InfoMigrants, the truck was stopped as it was leaving the ferry from Zeebrugge, Belgium around 3 am.
A Kurdish woman inside the container made a distress call before the ship reached the port, which was received by the UK coast guard and then informed the Irish authorities. The migrants had spent 24 hours in -4 degrees shut inside the container, struggling to breathe and eventually had to cut a hole in the side.
Despite the difficult situation, all 14 people were reported to be in good health. The majority of the migrants were Kurds from Iran and Iraq, and they were taken to residential accommodation for asylum seekers.
Former president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Eugene Drennan, highlighted the skilled nature of the smuggling operation, stating that it was fortunate a tragedy was avoided by chance. Irish President Michael D. Higgins emphasised the need to understand the stories of desperate migrants and why they turn to human traffickers.
Furthermore, it was confirmed that the migrants rescued from the shipping container in Rosslare would not be pursued by the Department of Integration, and they have the option to seek asylum in Ireland or leave voluntarily. The prime minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, made it clear that the migrants have the freedom to make their own choice in this regard.
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