Relatives of the 58 illegal Chinese immigrants who suffocated in a truck in the British port of Dover last year have asked the Dutch authorities for compensation, the foreign ministry in Hague said Monday.
"The relatives are demanding compensation and an inquiry into the smuggling of people and ask that we find who's responsible for the tragedy," said Hanna Tijmes, a spokeswoman for the ministry.
The ministry is considering how to respond to such a demand, she added.
Fifty-eight Chinese immigrants were found dead in the back of a Dutch lorry in Dover on June 18, 2000. The vehicle's Dutch driver 32-year-old Perry Wacker, and a Chinese woman, Ying Guo, accused of being a contact for the immigrants on arrival in Britain, are standing trial in Maidstone.
In the Netherlands, the trial of nine people accused of organising the fatal journey began in Rotterdam on March 5.
(China Daily 03/20/2001)
