Wednesday, February 23, 2000, 12:58
p.m. Pacific
Immigrants' deaths ruled accidental;
stowaways died of dehydration, malnutrition
by Dave Birkland
Seattle Times staff reporter
The three Chinese immigrants found dead in a cargo container when their
ship docked at Harbor Island Jan. 10 died of acute malnutrition and
dehydration, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said today.
The deaths of Dian Biao Jiang, Ben Qing Zhu and Hui Zhang, who
authorities say were being smuggled into the United States, are classified
as accidental, said Jerry Webster, chief examiner.
The soft-topped container the three men were found in had plenty of
food and water but the three apparently were so ill from seasickness they
could not eat or drink, Webster said.
When the cargo ship docked at Harbor Island, the three men, along with
15 other Chinese immigrants, were found hidden in a container on the
bottom deck of the vessel, which had left Hong Kong 16 days earlier.
The inside of the container was filthy with crushed cardboard, plastic
bottles, bags of human waste and blankets.
It is uncertain whether the relatives of Ben Qing Zhu and Hui Zhang
have been notified because there was no way to contact them, Webster said.
They were believed to be from the coastal province of Fujian, which is
opposite Taiwan and southwest of Hong Kong.
The Medical Examiner's Office hasn't been able to determine or
approximate the men's ages, Webster said.
Alan Lai, a social worker with the Chinese Information and Service
Center, said he had been able to talk to Dian Biao Jiang's wife and inform
her of her husband's death.
The 15 men who survived the crossing all needed medical treatment on
arrival, but none had life-threatening medical conditions. After treatment
at Harborview Medical Center, they were turned over to the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to determine their status.
Their requests for asylum in the United States are still pending, the INS
said today.
More than 100 Chinese stowaways have been arrested at West Coast ports
since Jan. 1, immigration officials have reported.
Hui Zhang died first, about Jan. 1, eight days after departing Hong
Kong, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. Dian Biao Jiang died
about Jan. 7, and Ben Quig Zhu died the day before the ship docked in
Seattle.
The three men were found in the corner of the cargo container, one of
them wrapped in a blanket. Others in the container said they shouted to
the crew after some of the men began dying, but their shouts were unheard
or ignored.
The survivors told INS officials they ate canned porridge, apples and
crackers during the journey.
Copyright © 2000 The
Seattle Times Company
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