London dockworkers discover 35 people, one dead, in shipping container

London dockworkers discover 35 people, one dead, in shipping container
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Workers at Tilbury Docks near London today found 35 people in a shipping container, including one man who was dead, CNN reports.

The dockworkers heard "screaming and banging," coming from inside the container, and upon opening it found the stowaways, who officials said are from the Indian subcontinent. The container arrived in Tilbury — about 30 miles east of London — after a nine-hour journey aboard a ship that began its voyage in Zeebrugge, a Belgian port city. The company which owns the ship, P&O Ferries, told CNN that containers are inspected by the UK Border Agency, not the company itself.

All 50 containers which were aboard the ship are being thoroughly searched now, and authorities have launched a homicide investigation into the death of the adult male.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.