The bodies of three Chinese migrants were found Monday inside a shipping
container in Seattle. The container, where the corpses of an elderly
woman and two men were found, also held 15 dehydrated and malnourished
male survivors of a two-week trip from Hong Kong.
And even more people were discovered Tuesday morning in a cargo
container. This time 19 men were seized by immigration authorities.
The container ship carrying the dead migrants, the Cape May
docked in Seattle on Monday. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service had been tipped off "that there were people on this boat," said
spokeswoman Irene Mortensen.
A search turned up the victims and the survivors. The survivors have
been taken to hospital.
Two are reported to be in serious condition.
"We have 15 Chinese men here, all showing signs of malnutrition and
dehydration," said hospital spokesman Larry Zalin.
"So, we're giving them IV fluids, vitamins and running labs to see the
extent of the care they'll need and whether they'll need to be
admitted."
Authorities believe the stowaways travelled for at least three days
with the dead people beside them in the container.
Just a few hours later police searched another cargo ship, the
Yokohama docked at Pier 46 in Seattle. Nineteen Chinese men were
found hiding in a container. That ship had also set sail from Hong Kong.
Unlike the other migrants, the latest group was said to be in good
condition.
Since the new year, a number of illegal migrants have arrived in West
Coast ports by hiding in canvas-covered containers:
- 12 people
in Seattle Jan. 2
- 25 people in Vancouver Jan. 4
- 14 people in
Seattle Jan. 5
The Cape May and the Vancouver ship, the
California Jupiter are both owned by NYK, but immigration
officials say that doesn't mean the shipping line is involved with human
smuggling.
Because of the deaths involved in Monday's discovery, the FBI has been
called in to investigate.
