April 10, 2008
BANGKOK - 54 Burmese migrants who died in the seafood container were buried at Hin Dard cemestry. Police commander is confident the driver will be arrested soon.
At least 54 Myanmar migrants suffocated to death in a cold storage container as they were being smuggled into Thailand to look for work.
A total of 121 people were crammed inside a container just six metres (20 feet) long and 2.2 metres wide, said Colonel Kraithong Chanthongbai, local police commander in the Ranong where the bodies were found late Wednesday.
Twenty one people were hospitalized suffering dehydration and lack of oxygen. But they appeared to recover after receiving intravenous fluids.
The airtight container was normally used to carry frozen seafood.
The migrants each paid a Thai smuggling ring some 5,000 baht (157 dollars) to take them from the border to the nearby resort isle of Phuket.
The migrants tried to bang on the walls of the container to tell the driver of the truck they were dying. But he told them to shut up so as not to make police hear them.
The driver of the truck opened the container’s door and fled when realizing the migrants had died, according to AFP.
67 people who survived without injury have been arrested.
Pol Maj Gen Apirak Hongthong, Commander of the Ranong Provincial Police, revealed police were investigating Mr. Damrong Phusadee, the owner of the truck.
About 540,000 migrant workers are registered to work in Thailand, most of them from Myanmar, according to the labour ministry, but as many as one million undocumented workers are believed to be in the kingdom.
Those who do make it into Thailand often must deal with criminal traffickers who transport them to Bangkok or other major economic centres such as Phuket in dangerous and exploitative conditions.
Seven migrants and their Thai driver were killed in November during a high-speed chase to escape police.
Seven others were found dead in January, apparently having drowned in a Thai lake while making the illegal crossing.
In December, at least 22 died while making the sea journey when their boat collapsed.
