Sixteen people have been found on board a ship as it made its way to Rosslare Port, Co Wexford this morning.
Although the age is yet to be confirmed of one man as he is an expected minor or young adult, the rest are confirmed to be adult males.
They were found in a container on a Stena Line ferry sailing from Cherbourg in France. The lorry in question is owned by a local Irish-based company (which has not yet been named) and the driver is a male in his 50's.
At 9.20pm last night the Stena Horizon passenger ship left Cherbourg in France for Rosslare. En route staff heard banging from truck container in the ship's hold. When they opened the doors they found sixteen people alive.
It was the Captain of the Stena Horizon Ferry that alerted Gardaí at roughly 9.45am this morning. He informed them of what the staff had discovered.
Passengers onboard told Beat news they knew very little of the incident and only heard the driver being called to meet with staff, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.
According to Gardaí the driver then assisted staff in opening the trailer unit where the sixteen males were then brought to a private lounge where they were attended to with 'immediate medical and welfare care.'
When the Stena Horizon docked this afternoon, Gardaí, Immigration Officers and medical staff from Wexford General Hospital boarded the ferry as the rest of the passengers departed.
Gardaí confirmed that, "all sixteen males were medically assessed by doctors and ambulance personnel on the ferry and are assessed to be in general good health.
"Gardaí believe that all the men are of Middle Eastern origin and are adults, but Gardaí continue to confirm the age of one man who may be a juvenile."
Garda Immigration Officers attached to Wexford Garda Station, supported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) are now processing the men under immigration legislation.
Investigations are ongoing.
More to follow...
