Morecambe Bay cockling disaster

On the evening of 5 February 2004, at least 21 Chinese undocumented migrants were drowned by an incoming tide at Morecambe Bay in North West England, while illegally harvesting cockles off the Lancashire coast.

The Chinese gangmaster who organised the trip and two associates of his were found guilty of manslaughter, of breaking immigration laws and other crimes, and were sentenced to several years in prison.

[3][4] The workers had been trafficked via containers into Liverpool, and were hired out through local criminal agents of international Chinese triads.

[10][1] At the hearing, British cocklers returning to shore on the same evening were reported to have attempted to warn the Chinese group by tapping their watches and trying to speak with them.

Zhao Xiao Qing was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months for facilitation of illegal immigration and perverting the course of justice.

[13][14] A 2006 documentary Death in the Bay: The Cocklepickers' Story, was commissioned by Channel 4 as part of The Other Side from local filmmaker Loren Slater, who was one of the first people on the scene.

[15] In 2009, Ed Pien's work Memento, commissioned by the Chinese Arts Centre, was developed in response to the plight of illegal immigrants, especially those who died at Morecambe Bay.