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15 illegal Chinese immigrants held

LOS ANGELES: US immigration authorities said they arrested 15 Chinese immigrants found inside a container on a US cargo ship that docked here.

Conditions inside the poorly ventilated container were so bad that Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) agents had to wear special gear before entering, the INS said.

The container arrived at the Los Angeles port on the "President Adams," which belongs to a US shipping company.

On Saturday, INS agents in Long Beach, California arrested another 15 Chinese illegal immigrants who had paid 60,000 dollars each for their trip from Hong Kong aboard the South Korean owned Hyundai Independence.ÑAFP