LONDON: French authorities have successfully rescued six female migrants who were trapped inside a refrigerated food truck.
The incident unfolded in northern France when one of the women managed to make a contact with BBC reporter, according to statements from the BBC and French officials on Friday.
The group of women, consisting of four Vietnamese and two Iraqis, were hidden inside the truck, which was carrying boxes of bananas. They believed the vehicle was enroute to the UK or Ireland. However, as they realized that the truck was actually heading in the wrong direction, panic set in within the cold, cramped, and dark confines of the truck. One of the women reached out to a reporter with the BBC’s Vietnamese service in London, who helped them alert the French police on Wednesday.
French prosecutor Laetitia Francart clarified that the truck driver, who was actually enroute to Italy, was not at fault. The women informed the officers investigating the matter that the driver had no involvement in their situation and explained that they had boarded the truck under the false impression it was bound for England due to the Irish registration plates on the vehicle.
The BBC reporter, although unfamiliar with the migrants, speculated that she was contacted due to her previous reporting on Vietnamese migrants who tragically suffocated in a truck four years earlier.
The reporter managed to relay text messages, the truck’s GPS location, and short videos depicting the dire conditions inside the truck. The videos showed the women seated on the cramped floor, surrounded by boxes of fruit, struggling to breathe and in a state of panic.
The interior of the truck registered just 6 degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Francart, the prosecutor for Villefranche-sur-Saône. She noted that the women were wearing thick coats and were in good health despite their ordeal.
French authorities promptly located and intercepted the truck on a highway after the women’s distress signals. The truck driver also contacted the police after hearing noises from the trailer.
Subsequently, the six women were detained for being in France without legal documentation before being released. Four of them were given 30 days to leave the country, while the remaining two were allowed to remain and seek asylum. Francart did not provide details on how the women had arrived in France.
Every year, thousands of migrants seeking a better life in the UK attempt to cross from northern France, either by concealing themselves in trucks or embarking on small, unseaworthy boats to cross the English Channel. Many of these migrants originate from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq and are determined to reach the UK from mainland Europe, often because they can speak English or have relatives already residing there.
