A man has died after 35 people – including children – were found in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks.

The survivors – believed to be from the Indian subcontinent – are said to be recovering “fairly quickly in most cases” at nearby hospitals.

They were discovered after a freighter arrived from Zeebrugge, Belgium at about 06:00 BST and was being unloaded.

Essex Police has launched a homicide investigation and officers are being assisted by their Belgian counterparts.

Supt Trevor Roe said staff at the docks were alerted to the container by “screaming and banging” from inside.

He said about 50 other containers on the freighter, called the Norstream, had been searched and no other people were discovered inside.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Roe told journalists the survivors were being held under immigration powers and would be taken to an immigration reception centre near Tilbury.

Belgian police say they believe the lorry which delivered the container in Zeebrugge has been identified through CCTV footage. They do not, however, have information yet about where it originated from.

He said they would eventually be interviewed through interpreters.