Migrants hope to board lorries at the Calais ferry terminal, France, to try to reach England. Reuters
Migrants hope to board lorries at the Calais ferry terminal, France, to try to reach England. Reuters
Migrants hope to board lorries at the Calais ferry terminal, France, to try to reach England. Reuters
Migrants hope to board lorries at the Calais ferry terminal, France, to try to reach England. Reuters

Suspected migrants found 'struggling to breathe' in lorry on England's M25


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Twelve people have been found in the back of a lorry on the M25 after police were alerted by concerned members of the public.

Emergency services were called to the motorway near Chertsey, Surrey, in southern England, after receiving reports at about 11am on Thursday that people were on board and struggling to breathe.

Surrey Police officers stopped lorries to find the correct one. Eleven men and a woman, believed to be migrants from Ethiopia, were found inside a vehicle.

Traffic was "backed up for miles" as a result of the incident, a witness said.

Motorist Melissa Bell was travelling eastbound on the M25 to Leatherhead when traffic ground to a halt.

"There was a lorry which had been stopped by multiple police cars and there were ambulances there, too," Ms Bell said.

"There were numerous East African-looking men. Some were lying face-down on the hard shoulder and some sat up with masks on.

"I just couldn't understand it. I've never seen anything like it."

Surrey Police said the lorry was stopped between junctions 10 and 11 on the anti-clockwise carriageway about 11.30am. Two lanes of the motorway were closed while officers dealt with the incident.

The roads policing unit confirmed both junctions reopened about 1.45pm.

"Officers were given a very limited description of a lorry and were told that people on board were struggling to breathe," a force representative said.

"This resulted in police needing to stop a number of lorries quickly to try to identify the one involved."

The suspected migrants were checked by paramedics at the roadside before being taken into police custody.

The matter will now be dealt with by immigration enforcement.

"The government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes, often to the most vulnerable people, by removing those with no right to be in the UK," Immigration Minister Chris Philp told Sky News.

"We continue to work with law enforcement agencies and tackle illegal migration in all its forms.

"Our New Plan for Immigration will speed up the removal of those who have entered the UK illegally."

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

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Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

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The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Flyweight (52kg): Zoirov Shakhobidin (UZB) beat Amit Panghol (IND) 3-2.

Bantamweight (56kg): Kharkhuu Enkh-Amar (MGL) beat Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov (UZB) 3-2.

Lightweight (60kg): Erdenebat Tsendbaatar (MGL) beat Daniyal Shahbakhsh (IRI) 5-0.

Light Welterweight (64kg): Baatarsukh Chinzorig (MGL) beat Shiva Thapa (IND) 3-2.

Welterweight (69kg): Bobo-Usmon Baturov (UZB) beat Ablaikhan Zhussupov (KAZ) RSC round-1.

Middleweight (75kg): Jafarov Saidjamshid (UZB) beat Abilkhan Amankul (KAZ) 4-1.

Light Heavyweight (81kg): Ruzmetov Dilshodbek (UZB) beat Meysam Gheshlaghi (IRI) 3-2.

Heavyweight (91kg): Sanjeet (IND) beat Vassiliy Levit (KAZ) 4-1.

Super Heavyweight ( 91kg): Jalolov Bakhodir (UZB) beat Kamshibek Kunkabayev (KAZ) 5-0.

Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 
How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
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The White Lotus: Season three

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Rating: 4.5/5

Kanguva
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Director: Ed Perkins

Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis

Four stars

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Updated: July 01, 2021, 8:45 PM