Stowaways undetected in Zeebrugge due to faulty equipment

The equipment is 11 years old and in need of replacement. “In these budget-strapped times, I don’t think we’ll be getting a new scanner any time soon,” said Lavaert.

The stowaways, a group of Sikhs from Afghanistan, including 13 children under the age of 12, were discovered in Tilbury docks on Sunday. One man died during the journey.

An Ostend-based company implicated in the case, meanwhile, has denied any involvement. “We are able to state categorically that the container did not come from us,” the company Cool Solutions said in a statement. “We have nothing to do with this matter. We could not be involved, since we do not transport deep-sea containers.”

The company’s name came up in reports because the container was found beside a Cool Solutions trailer at Tilbury, near London. “We have not been approached by the authorities,” a spokesperson said, explaining that they had been contacted by the British press. “It’s too bad our image has been besmirched like this.”

The stowaways, who are assumed to be the victims of human traffickers, were treated in hospital for hypothermia and dehydration and will later be questioned by British police to enable them to reconstruct their voyage from Afghanistan to Zeebrugge, from where they crossed to Tilbury.

Ferry company P&O said the container arrived at the dock in Zeebrugge (pictured) one hour before it was loaded on board last Saturday, set off two hours after that in Essex, and arrived in the UK after an eight-hour crossing. There is no evidence to suggest the stowaways entered the container in Zeebrugge.

Photo courtesy Akinom/Wikimedia