Thursday, August 12, 1999

Jeff Lee Aboard Aurora Flight 767 Chris Wattie in Toronto and Alan Toulin in Ottawa
The Vancouver Sun, National Post, with files from The Canadian Press

Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun Cold and tired Chinese nationals wait on rocks on Kunghit Island.

About 150 illegal immigrants, including children as young as 13, were forced to swim for their lives yesterday just moments before the ship that had ferried them across the Pacific Ocean from China made a break for open water off the B.C. coast.

The passengers, who had spent weeks at sea, donned life jackets and fell into icy waters before scrambling on to an isolated, windswept beach at Gilbert Bay on the southernmost island in the Queen Charlotte chain.

The unregistered vessel then attempted to head back to sea, pursued by RCMP and Coast Guard vessels through rough seas and thick fog.

"At that time, a Department of National Defence [aircraft] came in and hailed the vessel, advised it to cease and desist and to turn around," said RCMP Constable Tracey Rook. "It did that."

Those in the water included men, women and children as young as 13, she said.

An RCMP vessel boarded the ship, and eight people on board were arrested. Immigration officials said the crew appeared to be Korean and the vessel was of Korean origin.

Last night, officials said it appeared the immigrants were Chinese nationals who had been transported from the People's Republic of China.

The immigrants were en route to Port Hardy in the northeast corner of Vancouver Island late last night after being rescued from the isolated area where they had taken sanctuary.

A number of the cold and tired Chinese nationals had started fires to keep warm and to attract the attention of their rescuers.

Lieutenant John Coppard, spokesman for the Canadian Forces, said two Buffalo search-and-rescue aircraft were launched from Canadian Forces Base Comox to parachute emergency supplies and rescue technicians to the isolated beach where the immigrants were huddled against the wind and rain.

The beach, on the northwest coast of Kunghit Island, is inaccessible by road.

George Varnai, a spokesman for the federal Citizenship and Immigration Department, said all of the immigrants were headed for CFB Esquimalt, a naval base in suburban Victoria.

He said the illegal immigrants appeared tired, but otherwise safe.

"Our medical people on site, on the beach, are satisfied that there is no immediate cause for alarm," Mr. Varnai said. "No one is in need of medical evacuation."

Immigration authorities had planned to meet the vessel Tuesday night at the limit of Canada's territory when it appeared to be steaming towards Sandspit on the Queen Charlottes.

More coverage, Page A3 Give us your tired, your poor..., Page A18

But that plan was cancelled after the ship appeared to change course several times during the evening, in an apparent attempt to evade detection.

Elinor Caplan, the new Immigration Minister, called the situation an insult to Canadian sovereignty and promised "appropriate action" will be taken against the captain of the ship.

"We're sending a very strong message to the smugglers . . . that we will ensure that all legal remedies will be used to send a message that this is unacceptable," Ms. Caplan told a news conference in Ottawa.

Ms. Caplan said the immigrants will be detained until the government determines who they are and if they have criminal records or are considered a risk.

The minister said the vessel will be taken to Vancouver.

Less than a month ago, Esquimalt was hastily prepared to house 123 Asians who arrived on the west coast of Vancouver Island in a decrepit ship.

Most have been released while their refugee claims are heard, but 37 remain in custody, either because immigration officials cannot confirm their identities or because they are suspected leaders of the smuggling ring.

RELATED SITES:

(Each link opens a new window)

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

The brand-new white paper on immigration policy

Statistics Canada: Immigration and Citizenship

Statistics from the 1996 national census that look at where Canadians came from.