Port staff at Tilbury docks in Essex, England made a horrifying discover Saturday morning when they heard “screaming and banging” coming from a shipping container.
Thirty-five people were discovered in the container, including children. One man has died, two were taken to the hospital in serious condition and others were treated for hypothermia and dehydration, Marine Insight reports.
Supt Trevor Roe of Essex Police explained that because of the death, the investigation will be treated as a homicide investigation, The Telegraph reports. Police also said that immigration and health authorities will assist in the investigation.
“As a result of the ferry docking, staff at the port became aware of screaming and banging coming from the container,” Roe said.
The shipping containers arrived at 6 a.m. on a ferry from Zeebrugge, Belgium, which left at 10 p.m. on Friday, although police are unsure of when the stowaways managed to get inside the container. The group may be illegal immigrants, and the police believe they are all from the Indian sub-continent.
After a decontamination zone was set up, a Public Health England spokesperson said there is no risk of any infectious disease, and “if it was Ebola, health care professionals are so alert at the moment to signs and symptoms that should there have been anyone who was showing symptoms we would have been notified immediately.”