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A North-African refugee was discovered dead in the boot of a car as it arrived on the Spanish mainland on August 2, presumably killed by suffocation after willingly hiding in a suitcase to avoid customs inspections.
The tragedy occurred on the Transmediterranea Sorolla super-ferry© Transmediterranea 06.08.2015 - The man’s brother, who regularly travels by ferry and car to Spain, helped his sibling plan the escape from North Africa, and they boarded the Transmediterranea ferry from Melilla to Almeria with the man hidden in a suitcase in the boot of his brother’s vehicle.
When the ferry arrived in Almeria after a five-hour crossing the brother returned to his car and quickly sounded the alarm, but it was too late. His brother had passed away and the emergency services could not revive him.
It’s another tragic story in a long line of desperate escapes in recent months by African immigrants trying to enter Europe, and resembles the recent story, reported in
Island Connections, of Adou Ouattara, an eight-year-old Ivory Coast boy who was discovered by scanners at the crossing point between Ceuta and Morocco curled up inside a suitcase. Unlike the man who unfortunately didn’t survive the ferry crossing to Almeria, young Adou was found in good health and has since been permitted to live in Fuerteventura with his parents, who were cleared of trafficking charges made when trying to bring their son into Spain.
Gallery: Man suffocates in suitcase |
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