Twelve people were found in the back of a truck on the M25 after police were alerted by concerned members of the public.
Emergency services were called on the highway near Chertsey, Surrey, after receiving reports that the occupants were on board and having difficulty breathing around 11 a.m. Thursday.
Surrey Police officers stopped a number of trucks in an attempt to identify the correct vehicle.
Eleven men and one woman, believed to be migrants from Ethiopia, were found inside the truck.
Police stopped the truck on the M25 near Chertsey on Thursday morning
Traffic was “backed up for miles” following the incident, an eyewitness told Sky News.
Motorist Melissa Bell was heading east on the M25 to Leatherhead when traffic stopped.
“There was a truck that had been stopped by several police cars and there were also ambulances,” she said.
“There were many men of East African appearance. Some were lying face down on the hard shoulder and some were sitting with masks on.
“I just couldn’t figure it out. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Surrey Police said the truck was stopped between Junctions 10 and 11 on the carriageway in a counterclockwise direction around 11.30am. Two lanes of the highway were closed while officers dealt with the incident.
The force’s road police unit confirmed the reopening of the two intersections at around 1.45 p.m.
“The officers were given a very limited description of a truck and were told that those on board had difficulty breathing,” a force spokesperson added.
“This forced the police to quickly stop a number of trucks to try to identify who was involved.
“Eleven men and one woman, considered illegal migrants, were found in the back of the truck.”
A motorist told Sky News how the traffic was “backed up for miles”
The suspected migrants were checked by ambulance drivers at the side of the road before being taken away …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-07-01 17:08:00
