21 illegal immigrants discovered in Refrigerated Lorry
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

WARSAW (Poland): Polish border guards detained 21 illegal immigrants from Asia after they were discovered in a refrigerated lorry near the German border overnight, guards said Monday.

The group's endeavour to reach Germany could have been fatal as the temperature inside the vehicle was minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).

"If we hadn't found them they could have frozen to death," border guard spokesman at Krosno Odrzanskie, Mariusz Skrzynski, said.

Indians among illegal Immigrants

The would-be immigrants, 11 Chinese, eight Vietnamese and two Indians - were stopped at the Swiecko border crossing. "None of them was hospitalized and they are in good health," Skrzynski said, adding that they had been given hot drinks.

It was not immediately clear how much time the group had spent inside the lorry which also carried frozen vegetables. "We are waiting for an interpreter because none of them speaks English," said the spokesman.

The Polish truck driver was also detained but said he had been unaware of his human cargo.●