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Man arrested over death of Afghan in container

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland police said Tuesday they have arrested a man on suspicion of smuggling 35 Afghan immigrants into England in a container shipment, during which one man died.

The 34-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in the Northern Ireland town of Limavady. Police say he is being interrogated on suspicion of manslaughter and aiding the illegal entry of the Afghans into the United Kingdom.

Dock workers in the port of Tilbury, east of London, heard the Afghans screaming and pounding the walls of the container as it was unloaded from a cargo ferry Saturday.

One man, 40-year-old Meet Singh Kapoor, was pronounced dead at the scene. The others — identified as three Kabul families including 13 children — were treated for dehydration and hypothermia.

Also Tuesday, police arrested a German national suspected of people smuggling in a separate investigation after 15 people from Eritrea and Kashmir were found in the back of a truck.

Police said the truck, discovered at a service station in Somerset, southwest England, originated in mainland Europe.

None of the people on the truck were hurt.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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