A shipping container filled with 35 screaming people was discovered when a vessel docked at a port in England.
Employees at the Tillbury Docks in Essex County were unloading the ship Saturday morning when they heard "screaming and banging" coming from one of 64 steel containers, The Telegraph reported.
When the container was opened they discovered 35 men, women and children suspected to be illegal immigrants, Trevor Roe of Essex Police told the newspaper. Ambulances were rushed to the scene and all were taken to three hospitals in the area to be treated for dehydration and hypothermia from being trapped inside the container.
One man was pronounced dead at the scene. His death is to be investigated as a homicide, Roe said. His name and age were not immediately available.
A hazardous area response team, two rapid response cars and two doctors were also called to the docks, the BBC reported.
The 40-foot long container was loaded onto a ship named the Norstream that left from Zeebrugge, Belgium, on Friday. The trip lasted eight hours.
But authorities do not know where the container originated from or how the people got to be inside. The U.K. Border Agency was alerted to the possible immigration issue raised by the discovery, The Telegraph reported.
Officer Roe told the BBC the ship's other containers are being checked to make sure others are not trapped.
"This is a humanitarian issue and the welfare of these patients is a priority," Roe said.
The group is believed to be from the Indian subcontinent. Each year thousands of immigrants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and other countries try to enter Britain illegally, The Telegraph reported.
