A three-year-old girl was among five refugees discovered in a shipping container in Wexford on Sunday.
Gardaí were called to a New Ross company’s offices at 6pm that evening after it was discovered that a container that had been collected from Rosslare Europort had four adults and one child, believed to be from the Middle East, hiding inside.
The container travelled from Cherbourg to Rosslare on the Irish Ferries Oscar Wilde ship.
A spokesperson for the Gardai told the Irish Independent:
“The Gardai were notified there might be people inside the container,”
“Upon arrival the members discovered three adult males, one adult female and a three-year-old girl,” he added.
The five refugees were transferred to Wexford for medical assessment and are said to be doing well.
“They are currently being dealt with under emigration legislation and thankfully they are all in good health,” said the Garda spokesperson.
In 2001, eight Kurdish stowaways, four of them children, were found dead in a freight container in Wexford. All eight died of oxygen deprivation.
