The Hague: A cargo ship headed from the Netherlands to England was turned back on Tuesday night when 25 stowaways were reportedly discovered on board in a refrigerated container.
Taking to Twitter, Rotterdam region emergency services tweeted, “Onboard a ship it turned out that several people were found in a cooling container. The ship returned to the harbor”. On board a ship it turned out that several people were found in a cooling container. The ship returned to the harbor,” said the Rotterdam region emergency services said on Twitter.
“The 25 people were taken off the ship and given the medical care they need. Earlier the message came from the ship that no people died.” Two of the migrants were taken to hospital for treatment while the other 23 received a medical check-up in the port before being taken away by police for processing, according to a statement posted on the website of regional emergency services. The origins of the migrants are not known, and images of the stowaways being led to busses show mainly young men.
Police dogs were searching the ship, which was originally bound for the British port of Felixstowe, to check that no more migrants were on board, they added.
In the meantime, on Tuesday Dutch border police intercepted a bus carrying 65 Moldovan nationals, including children who were planning to claim asylum, Dutch media reported
