The 35 adults and children found from inside a shipping container at Tilbury Docks are believed to be Sikhs from Afghanistan, Essex police have said.
An international investigation was launched after 35 adults and children were found “banging and screaming” in the container on Saturday morning. One of the men had died and the rest were treated for severe dehydration and hypothermia.
Belgian Police believe the immigrants were probably already inside the container when it was dropped at a European port before setting sail for Britain.
Thirty have since been discharged from hospital and Superintendent Trevor Roe, of Essex Police, said officers and the Border Force will now conduct interviews them via interpreters to determine exactly what happened.
All will be taken care of by the Border Force in a "suitable location" once officials have finished questioning them. The Red Cross provided food and welfare for the group overnight.
“We now understand that they are from Afghanistan and are of the Sikh faith,” Mr Roe said Sunday.
"We have had a good deal of help from partners within the local Sikh community in the Tilbury area to ensure that these poor people, who would have been through a horrific ordeal, are supported in terms of their religious and clothing needs."
A post-mortem examination into the man's death is being conducted today while the container in question is being forensically examined.
Police believe substances found in the container are cleaning chemicals which are not thought to pose any health risk.
Peter De Waele, spokesman for the Federal Police in Belgium, said it appeared to be "impossible" for the 35 men, women and children to be loaded into the unit in the time it was at Zeebrugge, a port in the north of the country.
He said: "We saw that this container was there for one hour in all in an area where there is a lot of cameras, a lot of people and a lot of cars driving. It was around 6pm so it wasn't dark.
"We think that the possibility [is that] the victims were already on the container before it was put down in Zeebrugge because in that area it is rather impossible to put 35 people in that container
"That is not exact information. I think the investigation has to give answers to this question."
He declined to confirm whether detectives have already identified the vehicle which delivered the container to Zeebrugge.
The container was one of around 50 on board the P&O Ferries commercial vessel the Norstream when it arrived in Essex.
Moment 35 Afghan Sikhs were freed from ‘metal coffin’: Screaming stowaways are helped by police who are now hunting international network of people smugglers who brought them to Britain
- Disturbing footage has emerged showing the moment 35 immigrants were released from a container at Port of Tilbury
- The immigrants can be seen crawling helplessly around the floor, while harrowing screams echo around the docks
- 13 children, including a baby, and adults up to the age of 72 - including a man in his 40s who died - were among group
- Police have begun to question some of the immigrants - Belgian officials are 'very hopeful' they can track down driver
- Officers have said it would have been 'impossible' for the group to have been loaded into the container at Zeebrugge
- Spokesman Peter De Waele said each container is captured on camera and the seals are under strict security controls
- Essex Police have confirmed all of those inside the unit were Sikhs from Afghanistan - four remain in hospital
This is the dramatic moment that 35 immigrants - including 12 children and a baby - were released from inside a shipping container, after being discovered yesterday morning at the Port of Tilbury.
In the disturbing footage, immigrants aged up to 72-years-old can be seen exiting the metal container, before helplessly crawling around the floor, while harrowing screams echo around the docks.
Police and border officials can be seen trying to help and calm the immigrants, as some collapse to the floor, completely unsure of what to do with themselves.
Others are pictured standing with their heads in their hands, while others cradle themselves backwards and forwards, letting out desperate cries for help.
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This footage shows the dramatic moment that 35 immigrants - including 12 children and a baby - were released from a shipping containing yesterday morning, after being discovered at the Port of Tilbury, Essex
In the disturbing footage, the immigrants - now confirmed as Afghan Sikhs - can be seen crawling helplessly around the floor, while harrowing screams echo around the dock
The footage, obtained by ITN, comes as it emerged that the immigrants, found yesterday morning at the docks in Essex, included nine men and eight women aged between 18 and 72, as well as 13 children, aged between one and 12-years-old.
Today, Belgian police said they believed the immigrants were already inside the unit when it was dropped at a European port before setting sail for Britain.
International agencies are now working alongside British Police as they continue their investigation into how the group - including one man in his 40s who later died - came to arrive at the Port of Tilbury.
Essex Police have also confirmed that the group - who are now being questioned at an immigration centre at the port - were Sikhs from Afghanistan.
Superintendent Trevor Roe, of Essex Police, said: 'The welfare and health of the people is our priority at this stage.
Police and border officials are seen trying to help the immigrants, as several collapse onto the floor, letting out desperate cries for help
Essex police have confirmed the group included nine men and eight women aged between 18 and 72, as well as 13 children, aged between one and 12 years old
Thirty of those found in the container have been released from local hospitals while four of the remaining victims continue to be treated at South Hospital. They are expected to be discharged by tomorrow
'Now they are well enough, our officers and colleagues from the Border Force will be speaking to them via interpreters so we can piece together what happened and how they came to be in the container.
'We now understand that they are from Afghanistan and are of the Sikh faith. Members of the Sikh community in Thurrock, Essex, are helping support the victims alongside the Red Cross.
Thirty people have now been released from local hospitals to a reception centre at the Port of Tilbury. The four remaining victims are continuing to be treated at Southend Hospital where they are expected to remain overnight.
Peter De Waele, spokesman for the Federal Police in Belgium, said it appeared to be 'impossible' for the 35 men, women and children to be loaded into the unit in the time it was at Zeebrugge, a port in the north of the country.
He said investigators have been combing CCTV and are 'very hopeful' that they can track down the driver and company of the vehicle that deposited the container.
Mr De Waele said each container is captured on camera and their seals are subject to 'very strict' controls.
Dock workers made the shocking discovery at 6.37am on Saturday morning after they heard 'screaming and banging' coming from inside one of the ship's containers
He said: 'We saw that this container was there for one hour in all in an area where there is a lot of cameras, a lot of people and a lot of cars driving. It was around 6pm so it wasn't dark.
'We think that the possibility [is that] the victims were already on the container before it was put down in Zeebrugge because in that area it is rather impossible to put 35 people in that container.
'That is not exact information. I think the investigation has to give answers to this question.'
He declined to confirm whether detectives have already identified the vehicle which delivered the container to Zeebrugge.
But he added: 'My colleagues told me that they were very hopeful looking at the pictures that they [could] find the company and also the driver who put the container in Zeebrugge.
A spokesman for the Belgian Police has said it would be 'impossible' for the group of illegal immigrants to have boarded the vessel (pictured at Tilbury Docks yesterday) at Zeebrugge as the seals on the co
'It is too early saying the driver is involved but when we find the driver we can work backwards.'
Mr De Waele added that they are working closely with Essex police and described tackling human trafficking as a 'priority' in Belgium.
The container was one of around 50 on board the P&O Ferries commercial vessel the Norstream when it arrived in Essex.
The immigrants, all thought to be from the Indian subcontinent, were rescued after port authorities heard banging and screaming from inside the container at around 6.30am yesterday.
One man died and the others were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia and dehydration. A post mortem was carried out today but proved to be inconclusive. There will be further tests to determine his cause of death.
Two police officers stand next to an ambulance at the gates of Tilbury Docks yesterday morning after dock workers made the shocking discovery
An ambulance enters the Essex port following the incident. The stowaways were treated for severe dehydration and hypothermia after they were found
The A&E department of Basildon University Hospital in Essex was closed off as a 'decontamination area' as the suspected immigrants were treated
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