Two stowaways slipped aboard a cargo ship in West Africa. After ten days without food, they were found in the pump room.
Police looked after two people on a cargo ship from Africa.
– It turned out that they got on board at night, so the ship traveled from West Africa towards Norway, says Operations Director Knut Dahl Michelsen in the Western Police District to VG.
When they called at Tyssedal in Hardanger on Sunday, Norwegian police took over.
Tyssedal is a settlement in the municipality of Ullensvang, which had a population of 601 in 2021.
Ten days in the pump room without food
A full ten days passed before the boat crew discovered her.
– They hid downstairs in the pump room. They had no food, only water, so they were in relatively poor condition when they were found. The captain and cabin crew took care of them, says Dahl Mikkelsen.
The ship was transporting sand from the desert, which was to be used to produce iron and ore in Norway, says the operations manager.
Communications director Jorulf Kyrkjeeide at industrial company TiZir Titanium & Iron in Tyssedal says they have had shipments from Senegal for a number of years. He adds that the company was expecting a ship today.
Kirkjedi himself was not present when the ship docked with the “blind passengers”.
– We are very surprised that someone is on the ship. Since 2015, we’ve had about one ship call a month, and we’ve never seen anything like this before, says Kirkjedi.
The people were interviewed by the Norwegian police at the Tesiedal station. They are on their way to being taken over by the police investigation unit.
– They were sent to Oslo to apply for asylum, says Operations Director Dahl-Michelsen.
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