Tuesday, August 17

KIM LUNMAN
British Columbia Bureau
Monday, August 16, 1999

Victoria -- Rescuers were searching last night for a man left behind on a British Columbia island where a shipload of illegal Chinese migrants was dumped by smugglers last week.

A search on the uninhabited Kunghit Island was launched yesterday by the navy, Parks Canada and RCMP and will continue today.

Authorities returned after interviews with some of the 131 illegal migrants from China's Fujian province, rescued from the rugged North Pacific island on Wednesday, revealed another migrant was missing.

"I can't speculate why they weren't forthcoming with this information earlier," RCMP Constable Tracey Rook said. "We have serious concerns for this individual's safety. It's an uninhabited island. There's no food. There's no shelter. We have no idea what condition he'll be in."

Officials fear the man, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, would not have survived five days on the desolate island at the southernmost tip of the Queen Charlottes.

The search was to continue today with police dogs and more RCMP officers, Constable Rook said.

By 8 p.m. Pacific time yesterday, the search had not turned up anything. The weather has been cold, foggy and rainy in the area, dropping to 10 degrees overnight. It is believed the missing man had no provisions.

The Canadian Coast Guard's Arrow Coast combed the western and eastern shorelines of Kunghit Island yesterday. Air and land searches were also under way.

Rescuers believe the man fled the Gilbert Bay beach where the rest of the passengers were dumped in an attempt to hide from authorities.

Four other Chinese migrants were found 24 hours after the other passengers were rescued last week. Those four men, believed to be involved in the smuggling, hid in the forest overnight but surrendered to a rescue team Thursday. None was hurt.

At that time, Canadian authorities involved in the search said they believed no other migrants were left behind or had drowned.

It was originally reported the migrants were forced to swim ashore by their smugglers but investigators said later they were dumped into shallow water when their vessel pulled into a cove on Kunghit Island.

The migrants were rescued after a two-day chase of the smugglers ended with the human cargo being dumped and the crew unsuccessfully attempting to escape to international waters.

The Korean vessel was seized by RCMP and its nine crew, all believed to be South Korean, are to appear in court today in Victoria on charges of causing a person to disembark at sea. They could face penalties of up to 10 years in jail and $500,000 fines if convicted.

The arrival of the second shipload of smuggled migrants in three weeks has sparked a backlash.

Victoria's local newspaper ran a front-page headline yesterday, "Go home," and a reader poll showing more than 3,000 people, or 97 per cent of respondents, want the government to deport the migrants immediately.

A source close to investigations into both ships said the Chinese passengers were told by their smugglers they would make lots of money in North America.

"They were told that life would be a lot easier for them here, and there would be jobs," he said of the latest arrivals. "They seem to be happy. They don't know what they're getting into."

He said some of the migrants on the second ship have said they paid $30,000 for their passage. He said some of those on the first ship said they were promised jobs that would pay $1,800 (U.S.) a month. None would say where they were destined. The average pay for farmers and factory workers in their native Fujian province is about $6 (Canadian) a day, he said.

Police have now confirmed a third ship of 100 more Chinese was also destined for British Columbia.

The Japanese navy first spotted the cargo ship earlier this month. The ship, which was expected to arrive in Canada within weeks, was diverted by the U.S. Coast Guard over the weekend to the Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory near Guam.

Organized criminals in China are targeting B.C. as a human-smuggling haven, she said.

The navy is increasing surveillance of sea routes from China to B.C., Lt.-Cmdr. Gerry Pash said.

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