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| Sixty-eight immigrants found in Harwich International port lorries | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sixty-eight suspected illegal immigrants, including two pregnant women and 15 children, have been found inside four lorries at a port in Essex. | |
| They were discovered during routine checks at Harwich International Port at about 22:00 BST on Thursday. | |
| Among those found were 35 people from Afghanistan, 22 from China, 10 from Vietnam and one Russian. | |
| Four Polish lorry drivers have been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. | |
| They are now being questioned, the Home Office confirmed. | |
| A Home Office spokesman said the stowaways were found inside four separate lorries rather than in one container as initially reported. | |
| The pregnant women were among seven people taken to Colchester Hospital suffering from non life-threatening abdominal and chest pains. | The pregnant women were among seven people taken to Colchester Hospital suffering from non life-threatening abdominal and chest pains. |
| The remaining 61 were assessed and released to immigration officials. | The remaining 61 were assessed and released to immigration officials. |
| They are currently being held at Harwich port and those not seeking asylum will be sent home, a Stena Line spokesman said. | |
| The ferry set off from the Hook of Holland on Thursday afternoon. It is not yet clear where the lorries had been before sailing to Harwich. | |
| A port spokesman said the stowaways were believed to have been found as part of routine checks being carried out by the Border Force. | A port spokesman said the stowaways were believed to have been found as part of routine checks being carried out by the Border Force. |
| Matthew Broad, from East of England Ambulance Service, said the "immigrants were a number of mixed nationals from a number of countries, European and further afield". | Matthew Broad, from East of England Ambulance Service, said the "immigrants were a number of mixed nationals from a number of countries, European and further afield". |
| Essex Police said Border Force staff were taking the lead on the incident as it "relates to immigration offences". | Essex Police said Border Force staff were taking the lead on the incident as it "relates to immigration offences". |
| Last August, one man died when 35 Afghan Sikh migrants were found in a container at Tilbury Docks. | Last August, one man died when 35 Afghan Sikh migrants were found in a container at Tilbury Docks. |
| They were discovered after dock workers heard banging and screaming coming from one of the containers. | They were discovered after dock workers heard banging and screaming coming from one of the containers. |
| Mr Broad said there appeared to be a "similar pattern" to Thursday's incident. | Mr Broad said there appeared to be a "similar pattern" to Thursday's incident. |
| "We have experience of dealing with this in Essex, and one of the things we were concerned about was the length of time they'd been in there." | "We have experience of dealing with this in Essex, and one of the things we were concerned about was the length of time they'd been in there." |
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