Illegal Indian immigrant crushed to death in U.K.

London, Sept 6 (PTI) An illegal Indian immigrant trying
to enter Britain by hiding under the wheels of a truck coming
from Belgium has been crushed to death as he tried to slip out
from the vehicle, police said.

Baj Singh, 33, hailing from Punjab died at Trent Vale,
Staffordshire, earlier this week while trying to jump off from
the truck which delivered a cargo of tyres.

Hiding precariously in small spaces in trucks is one of
the common routes of illegal entries into Britain from Europe.

The British government has been coordinating efforts with
France to prevent such illegal entry on trucks as they enter
Britain from Calais across the channel.

The tyres in the truck were loaded in Germany, stopping
in Belgium before being shipped to Hull. It is not known at
what point the deceased and another person, who got away,
managed to enter the trailer, but police believe they could
have sneaked in and sealed the lorry's cover behind them in
Belgium.

When truck driver Robert Kidney got out of his cab on
arrival, he noticed fresh L-shaped cuts in the side of the
lorry and a body was spotted in the road. The victim's head
had been crushed by the 40-tonne truck's wheel.

He recalled seeing another man running off after
appearing from behind his vehicle further down the road.

At an inquest into the death at North Staffordshire
Coroner's Court, Kidney said: "I heard there had been an
accident and walked round the trailer to check it when I saw a
hole in the side and scuff marks in the dirt. I said to
someone 'I think he's come out of here'.

The Staffordshire police said the victim's fingerprint
records showed that he was twice picked up by immigration
officials while trying to enter the U.K. from Calais and sent
back. He had no official documents but gave his name as Baj
Singh, when he was earlier picked up on April 18.