CBC.CA News}
cbcca homeshop · help · contact · search   
Email News Digest | Audio | Video | RealAudio Newscast    
CBC Front Page
News
Indepth »
Viewpoint »
Programs »
Live »
Zone française »
Business
Sports
Weather
Entertainment
Kids
Consumers
Local Features
Interactive
Program Websites
On-Air Guide
Inside CBC
Millennium

Search News:


Radio-Canada

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2000 CBC
All Rights Reserved

Three Chinese migrants die in cargo container
WebPosted Tue Jan 11 18:25:04 2000

SEATTLE - 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.



Boni Fox reports for CBC TV
[Download Players]
N e w s   S e a r c h Email Story | Print Story
KEYWORDS:    FROM:   TO: 

A u d i o

H e a d l i n e s : W o r l d

L i n k s:

(Note: CBC does not endorse content of external sites - links will open in new window);