2000 Dover incident

Dover is a port town on the south-east coast of England where the English Channel narrows to 34 kilometres. On 18 June 2000 a Dutch lorry arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge carrying 60 Chinese immigrants. Customs officers opened the container after the ferry docked just before midnight and found 58 dead bodies inside. The victims had paid £20,000 each to travel from Beijing to Britain via Belgrade and Zeebrugge. Police believe they died of asphyxiation during the crossing when outside temperatures reached 32 °C. Two survivors were found closest to the doors after more than 18 hours trapped in the container. The incident remains one of the largest mass killings in British criminal history. The lorry belonged to a newly formed Dutch haulage company called Van Der Spek Transporten. The driver, Perry Wacker, was arrested at the scene and later sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter. Nine Chinese gang members were also jailed in the Netherlands in 2003 for their roles in the tragedy.