Kurdish family discovered alive in refrigerator container in Ireland

DUBLIN, Ireland (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdish family discovered in a refrigerated container on a ferry in southeastern Ireland are “lucky to be alive,” according to sources.

The Kurdish family had fled from Turkey in recent weeks, before traveling to Greece, The Irish Times reported.

Authorities said the 40-foot refrigerated container on a Stena Line ferry from Cherbourg, France contained four adults, two teenagers, and two children who were all related.

“The family was discovered inside what we describe as a curtain container which was refrigerated,” a source told The Irish Times.

“There were two young children discovered, and their condition was not good,” the source continued.

According to authorities, the family required “immediate” medical attention once they were found on Thursday evening.

“The family are all doing well now and have been transferred to Dublin” where they are being housed, the source revealed.

While authorities are trying to figure out how the family ended up in the container, the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) said the Kurds should be allowed to stay in the country.

Pippa Willnough, the advocacy manager of ICI, explained cases where people seeking asylum via desperate measures are becoming too common.

“We know the family are Kurdish so we don’t know exactly what route they would have taken, but it was definitely a dangerous route,” Willnough said.

“A mother and father decided that this was their decision, to risk both their own life and that of their children to reach safety,” she added. “This is no life for children.”

The family has since applied for asylum.