Refugees threaten to jump off ferry in Sweden
Maddy Savage - [email protected]
Published: 11 Sep, 2015 CET.
Updated: Fri 11 Sep 2015 09:33 CET
Emergency services were called out to a port in southern Sweden on Thursday night after refugees reportedly threatened to leap from a ferry into the waters below if they were to be forced to stay in Sweden.
While thousands of refugees are risking death to get into Sweden, there are several who are apparently ready to risk their life to get out.
That was the scene at 7pm on Thursday night, when emergency services were called to Trelleborg, on the southern coast of Sweden, after learning that refugees had threatened to leap from a ferry bound that was harboured at the port.
Coast guards, sea rescue services, and ambulances were all at the scene.
"They threatened to jump into the water because they didn't want to be registered in Sweden," Arvid Tedvik of the local coast guard told the TT news agency.
He added that the refugees were intending to get to Finland and Norway.
A Syrian boy arrives in Stockholm. Photo: TT
"The coast guards and the sea rescue services waited and kept watch, but no one ended up jumping in."
A spokesperson from the migration board in nearby Malmö, the landing point for the vast majority of refugees in Sweden, said that the board was aware of the incident.
"It is important to point out that we don't force anyone to leave fingerprints or to seek asylum in Sweden," he said.
"We are always trying to act humanely."
He noted that he wasn't sure why the refugees would have acted in such a fashion, adding that it would not be the fault of the "very well-behaved" Swedish police force.
Trelleborg on the southern Swedish coast. Photo: GoogleMaps
Ferry service Stena Line said that many refugees have been taking boats from Germany to Sweden in recent days, with 175 refugees bound for Gothenburg on Friday.
"We've said that as long as people have valid tickets then they're welcome to travel with us," a spokesperson told TT.
"This is a humanitarian catastrophe and many people on the run need to use these routes. We see ourselves as an important link in the chain."
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While thousands of refugees are risking death to get into Sweden, there are several who are apparently ready to risk their life to get out.
That was the scene at 7pm on Thursday night, when emergency services were called to Trelleborg, on the southern coast of Sweden, after learning that refugees had threatened to leap from a ferry bound that was harboured at the port.
Coast guards, sea rescue services, and ambulances were all at the scene.
"They threatened to jump into the water because they didn't want to be registered in Sweden," Arvid Tedvik of the local coast guard told the TT news agency.
He added that the refugees were intending to get to Finland and Norway.
A Syrian boy arrives in Stockholm. Photo: TT
"The coast guards and the sea rescue services waited and kept watch, but no one ended up jumping in."
A spokesperson from the migration board in nearby Malmö, the landing point for the vast majority of refugees in Sweden, said that the board was aware of the incident.
"It is important to point out that we don't force anyone to leave fingerprints or to seek asylum in Sweden," he said.
"We are always trying to act humanely."
He noted that he wasn't sure why the refugees would have acted in such a fashion, adding that it would not be the fault of the "very well-behaved" Swedish police force.
Trelleborg on the southern Swedish coast. Photo: GoogleMaps
Ferry service Stena Line said that many refugees have been taking boats from Germany to Sweden in recent days, with 175 refugees bound for Gothenburg on Friday.
"We've said that as long as people have valid tickets then they're welcome to travel with us," a spokesperson told TT.
"This is a humanitarian catastrophe and many people on the run need to use these routes. We see ourselves as an important link in the chain."
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