16 people found in sealed trailer on ferry heading to Ireland

LONDON -- Sixteen people were discovered sealed in a truck on a ferry traveling from France to Ireland, officials said Thursday.

The 16 individuals were found on a Stena Line ferry, which was traveling from Cherbourg, France, to Rosslare, Ireland, during a routine inspection and were sealed in a trailer on the vehicle deck of the ferry, according to a statement from Stena Line's Chief People and Communications Officer Ian Hampton.

"All the individuals are reported to be in good health and have been moved to a private passenger lounge on the ship where their well-being is the focus of our employees," said Hampton in the statement.

The company alerted security and immigration officials in Rosslare so the necessary arrangements and proper procedures could be made for the group upon their arrival in Rosslare on Thursday, Hampton said.

Just Wednesday it was reported that 25 other individuals were discovered in a refrigerated container on a ferry that originally embarked from the port of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam in the Netherlands, heading to Felixstowe, a small port town in England.

These events follow "the largest mass fatality" in the history of the Essex Police Force that happened less than a month ago when 39 Vietnamese nationals ranging in age from 15 to 44 were found dead inside a trailer at an industrial estate in Essex in the United Kingdom in the early hours of Oct. 23. The vehicle had arrived on a ferry originating in Zeebrugge, Belgium.

British police have since charged a man from Northern Ireland, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people. Three more people have since been released on bail pending further investigations. Another 22-year-old man from Northern Ireland was also arrested on a British warrant and Essex Police have begun the extradition procedure to bring him to the U.K. to face charges of manslaughter.