- Despite the discovery of a survivor and an ID card police still have no idea who the two men are.
- Among a cargo of shea nuts, the crew aboard a ship docked in Hull made a disturbing discovery.
- The body of a man was found among the nuts, while a second man was found in the hold. They were thought to be stowaways, but 20 years on, mystery still surrounds the grim find.
Grim discovery of men among nuts is one of Hull’s biggest mysteries, reveals a Hull Daily Mail.
14-year-old boy found in the bowels of the ship
What makes the case intriguing is that 14-year-old boy was also found in the bowels of the ship, but he was safe and well.
It was in June 2004 that they were found on the CEC Delta, berthed at Alexander Dock and registered in the Isle of Man. It had sailed to Hull from Ghana.
Emergency services had to wait at the scene for more than two hours for safety reasons before being able to recover the bodies. Officers soon confirmed that the deaths were not being treated as suspicious.
Speaking shortly after the discovery, Inspector Steve Page, of Humberside Police, said: “When we found the bodies they were already badly decomposed. The deaths are not being treated as suspicious and we do have a man helping us with our investigation.”
Also speaking at the time, Tristan Garrick, of Associated British Ports, said: “We can confirm that two dead bodies were found yesterday onboard the CEC Delta. The ship was discharging shea nuts from Ghana at the Euro Terminal, Alexandra Dock, in Hull.
“We can also confirm that the deceased were not crew members and the incident is being investigated by the police.”
According to a report by the chief port health inspector, the two men who died were likely to have suffocated during the journey. Their bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition.
The boy was found to be in good health and was detained by immigration officials. It is not known what happened to him and what information he might have offered about the two men.
The men who died were of Afro-Caribbean ethnicity. One had a Liberian national ID card with the name of Aron Davis. However, despite this crucial piece of evidence, neither man has been identified.
Mystery man washed up on beach
The stowaways are two of five people in the Humberside Police area whose bodies have never been identified. The body of a man washed up on a beach seven kilometres south of Withernsea in May 1993 still remains a mystery 30 years on.
His decomposed body was washed up on the beach on May 22 that year. The man, who police say was aged between 20 and 40, is believed to have been in the water between one week and two months. He is believed to have been wearing blue trousers, navy and white striped boxer shorts and a black plastic belt. He was wearing black size 9 moccasins and white socks.
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Source: Hull Daily Mail
