Burmese migrant workers found dead in container
54 Burmese undocumented migrant workers trying to reach Thailand were found dead in a tiny cramped container lorry on 10 April after the air-conditioning system failed.
Some of the 67 survivors said, they hoped to find work in a resort island of Phuket. They found themselves crammed in a seafood container that left Burma for a short sea crossing by fishing boat.
About 150,000 Burmese languish in refugee camps along the border. But another 1.5 million live and work in Thailand in industries such as seafood processing, fishing and construction.
Survivors said they tried to bang on the walls of the container to tell the driver they were dying, but he warned them to be quiet as police would hear them when they crossed through the check-points. 54 of the migrants were found dead 90 minutes later. They include 37 women and 17 men. The driver ran away after discovering the horrific scene.
(For more about this tragic incident, see OSH Column, page 32.)
Source: The Guardian, 10 April 2008
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