Cargo ship carrying illegal immigrants clears health check
CBC NEWSWORLD ONLINE
WebPosted Wed Jul 21
12:43:10 1999
GOLD RIVER, B.C. - Health Canada says there's no need to quarantine the
aging ship found Monday off the coast of Vancouver that was carrying more
than 100 would-be immigrants.
One-hundred and twenty-two Asians were taken into custody Monday after
their ship was discovered in the remote waters of Nootka Sound, about 300
kilometres northwest of Victoria.
The RCMP said all of the passengers had to remain on board until Health
Canada checked the ship for infectious diseases such as malaria and
tuberculosis. Officials were also concerned about malnutrition, dehydration
and dysentery among the ship's passengers.
Health Canada officials now say there's no indication of serious illness.
Officials say it's the worst case of human smuggling they've ever seen.
"Nothing of this magnitude has happened before on the West Coast in terms
of smuggling," said George Varnai, regional manager of Citizenship and
Immigration.
They estimate the group spent 38 days at sea. The illegal immigrants were
bussed to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in British Columbia. They will be
detained at the base, awaiting an immigration hearing.
At least two passengers attempted to leave the ship on a make-shift raft
Tuesday but they were picked up by off-duty Washington State police
officers, turned in to the RCMP and then returned to the ship.
The ship had no markings on it but an official with Citizenship and
Immigration says the people on board are Chinese.
Varnai says this operation has all the hallmarks of organized crime. "The
vessel had no markings, no flag, no name and no available identification
that ships normally have," he said.
Even though it's unusual for the West Coast of Canada, stories of smuggling
human cargo over oceans and across borders are nothing new.
Varnai says the region's isolated inlets and remote terrain aren't easy to
patrol and people dreaming of a better life in another country might slip
by undetected.
"I would be foolish to pretend that it's absolutely impossible for a
vessel to get in undetected, I'm sure it is possible, but we're trying to
make it as difficult as possible," Varnai said.
