Six female migrants found themselves trapped in a refrigerated food truck, but they were eventually rescued by French law enforcement. This rescue operation was initiated after one of the women managed to establish contact with a journalist, as reported by both the BBC and French authorities on Thursday.
These six women, comprising four Vietnamese and two Iraqis, endured hours of confinement inside a truck filled with boxes of bananas in northern France. They held the belief that the vehicle was en route to the UK or Ireland.
As the realization dawned upon them that the truck was headed in the wrong direction, panic set in within the cold, cramped, and dark space they occupied. Fortunately, one of them was able to reach out to a reporter associated with the BBC's Vietnamese service in London. This journalist played a crucial role in helping the women contact French authorities, which took place on Wednesday.
French prosecutor Laetitia Francart clarified that the truck driver, who was actually heading for Italy, bore no responsibility for the situation. The women explained during the investigation that the driver was not complicit in their predicament, indicating that they had boarded the truck under the impression that it was bound for England due to the presence of Irish registration plates on the vehicle.
"After several hours on the road without a stop, they realized their mistake and alerted a journalist," Francart added.
The BBC journalist mentioned that she did not personally know the migrants but speculated that her previous reporting on Vietnamese migrants who had suffocated in a truck four years ago might have led to her being contacted.
According to the broadcaster, the women were able to transmit text messages, the truck's GPS location, and brief videos illustrating the conditions inside the truck. These visuals depicted the women huddled in a confined space on the floor, surrounded by crates of fruit, as they struggled to breathe in a state of panic.
Francart, the prosecutor of Villefranche-sur-Saône, remarked that the truck's interior temperature was just 6 degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit). All of the women were wearing heavy coats and exhibited no health issues.
French police promptly located and intercepted the truck on a highway, with the assistance of the driver, who had contacted the authorities upon hearing sounds emanating from the trailer.
Following their detention for being in France without legal status, the six women were subsequently released. Four of them were granted a 30-day period to leave the country, while the remaining two were allowed to remain in France to pursue asylum claims. Francart did not provide any details about how the women had arrived in France.
Every year, thousands of migrants endeavor to cross from northern France to the UK in pursuit of a better life. They often resort to hiding in trucks or embarking on small, unseaworthy boats to traverse the English Channel. The motivation behind these efforts typically stems from factors such as the ability to speak English or the presence of family members in the UK.
Both routes, however, are fraught with risks. In 2019, 39 migrants from Vietnam tragically lost their lives when they suffocated inside a truck trailer in England, having paid substantial sums to human smugglers.
Furthermore, the British government has adopted a progressively stringent approach towards those who arrive in the UK through unauthorized means. A controversial law has been passed, mandating the detention and permanent deportation of migrants arriving via small boats to their home countries or third nations. As of now, Rwanda is the sole third country that has agreed to receive such individuals, though the plan faces legal challenges in UK courts, and no one has been deported to Rwanda thus far.
Meanwhile, French authorities have bolstered border patrols along their southern border with Italy to deter migrants from entering France from outside Europe. Pope Francis has urged European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, to open their ports to individuals fleeing hardship and poverty.
