Fatalities 58 Perpetrator Perry Wacker Number of deaths 58 Location Dover | Survivors 2 Date 18 June 2000 Survivor 2 | |
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Cause of Death Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Asphyxia | ||
On 18 June 2000, just before midnight, 58 dead bodies were found in a lorry in the port town of Dover, England. Two people were found alive but injured and taken to a hospital.
Incident
The Dutch lorry came from a ferry that had arrived from Zeebrugge in Belgium. It was determined that the deceased were immigrants, and likely died of asphyxiation, though carbon monoxide poisoning was not ruled out. The 60 immigrants were trapped in the container for more than 18 hours, when the outside temperature reached 32 °C (90 °F). It was confirmed by police that the deceased were Chinese illegal immigrants, 54 men and 4 women. The incident was one of the largest mass killings in British criminal history, and the largest involving immigrants entering the United Kingdom.
The driver of the lorry was Perry Wacker, 33, of Rotterdam. Wacker was arrested at the scene and, in 2001, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his part in an organised people smuggling operation, coordinated by a Chinese snakehead gang. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate the entry of illegal immigrants. In 2003, nine Chinese gang members were jailed in the Netherlands for their part in the tragedy.