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U.S. tip leads RCMP to Chinese stowaways
WebPosted Tue Jan 4 18:12:05 2000

VANCOUVER - RCMP in British Columbia say a tip from U.S. authorities helped them find 25 Chinese men hiding deep beneath the decks of a cargo ship docked in the Port of Vancouver.

The 21 men and four boys had been living in two cramped shipping containers that were buried under other containers inside the ship's hold.


"There were an additional 58 containers piled on top of it so there was no chance to move outside the container," said RCMP spokesman Grant Learned on Tuesday.

The ship, California Jupiter left Hong Kong Dec. 20, and was heading to Seattle. The stowaways survived the fifteen day voyage in what Learned described as, "primitive conditions".


"You have to imagine you had 12 and 13 people respectively in containers that measure roughly 40 by 10 feet," he said.

The migrants had food and water but only a couple of plastic pails were used to hold the human and food waste.

Immigration officials are questioning the men who say they want to remain in Canada.

Last summer, four ships were intercepted off the coast of B.C. carrying almost 600 illegal Chinese immigrants. Most of them have claimed refugee status.

The latest ship found in Vancouver is believed to be linked to a second ship from Hong Kong that docked in Seattle on Sunday with 12 stowaways aboard.

Three Chinese men, found waiting in a van parked near the ship, were ordered held in Seattle Monday and will likely be deported.

Meanwhile, in Long Beach, California, 18 Chinese migrants were detained after being found inside a cargo container aboard a ship that reportedly left Hong Kong nearly three weeks ago.

The ship had docked in B.C. before reaching Long Beach.



Chinese migrants from previous trips

Terry Milewski and Jack Sullivan report for CBC TV

Greg Rasmussen reports for CBC Radio


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