By KUNA
Kuala Lumpur : A total of 54 illegal Myanmar laborers suffocated Thursday while being transported in a container truck to the resort Island of Phuket.
Ranong Police Chief Major General Apirak Hongthong told the press a 10-wheel container truck, usually used for transporting frozen fish, was found by police, abandoned on a small road near Suksamlan village, about 450 kilometers south of Bangkok. The authorities discovered 120 Myanmar nationals inside, 54 of whom were dead.
“We know which human-trafficking gang is behind this incident and we will round up their network,” the official said.
The dead included 37 women and 17 men. Another 21 were hospitalized, and the remaining 46 were arrested by police for entering Thailand illegally.
The owner of the truck, who turned himself in, is expected to face charges, as will the driver, Apirak said.
Survivors told the police that half an hour after leaving Ranong, the Mayanmar nationals who were packed in too tightly contacted the truck driver and complained of heat and lack of oxygen.