London, August 17
A group of 35 men, women and children found inside a shipping container at a UK port are understood to be Sikhs from Afghanistan who are victims of “people trafficking”, the British Police said today.

They were discovered yesterday after a freighter arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex from Belgium.

The 35 people found inside the container are understood to be Sikhs from Afghanistan, the Essex Police said. Earlier, the police described them as people believed to be from the Indian sub-continent and questioned some of them.

A homicide investigation is continuing into the death of one of the 35 rescued. They were treated for severe dehydration and hypothermia before being taken to a detention centre.

They are being held under UK immigration laws and it is expected they will be interviewed through interpreters at the immigration centre near Tilbury. The Essex Police described the men, women and children as victims of "people trafficking" and are working with Interpol and other international authorities to try to establish what happened. Many of the survivors spent the night in hospital but none is thought to have suffered serious injury. One man is believed to have been questioned by officers already and most of the others have been discharged from hospital.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed being in contact with the UK authorities to ascertain their nationality.

The discovery was made after the container arrived from the Belgian village of Zeebrugge early on Saturday morning when "screaming and banging" were heard coming from inside.

"It is a homicide investigation...We will be looking to see where the origin and the gangs or whoever may be involved in this conspiracy to bring these people in this way over to this country," Supt Trevor Roe of Essex Police told reporters at a press conference. — PTI