NINE of the migrants who were discovered alive in the back of a lorry on a ferry sailing to Rosslare last week are now reportedly unaccounted for.
The migrants, all of which are male and one of which one is believed to be a minor, had been placed in temporary emergency accommodation, and now it appears that nine of them have left, with their current whereabouts unknown.
The group were found in the back of a trailer being towed by an Irish-owned lorry on the Cherbourg-Rosslare sailing that departed France on Wednesday night and arrived in Co Wexford on Thursday.
Noises were heard coming from the back of one of the trucks during the trip and the trailer was opened and the migrants, thought to be from Iraq and Iran, removed.
Gardai sources say that the migrants believed they were on a ferry destined for England, not Ireland, and it's expected that those now unaccounted for have made efforts to continue the journey to the UK.
This could involve either stowing away in another ferry travelling from Ireland to England, or they may look to travel to Northern Ireland to claim asylum there.
Since their discovery, the 15 male adults applied for international protection in Ireland and were taken to a reception centre in Dublin, while the minor was taken in by the child and family agency Tusla, according to the Irish Times.
While it would be illegal for the migrants to try and sneak themselves into the UK, the nine men who have since gone missing are committing no offence by leaving their accommodation they were given in Ireland. Nor have they done anything to scupper their applications for intentional protection in the country.
