LONDON, Feb 6: Eighteen people thought to be Chinese illegal workers digging for shellfish on treacherous mud flats off the northwest coast of England died when they were caught by racing tides, police said on Friday.

It was believed the victims drowned after becoming stranded while looking for cockles in Morecambe Bay, which is notorious for its swiftly-rising tides. The Home Office said the 16 men and two women, mostly in their teens and 20s, had been brought to Britain illegally by a "ruthless" people-trafficking network to work on the dangerous shores.

Rescuers launched a massive hunt with helicopters and lifeboats after a group, thought to number over 30 in all, were reported missing late Thursday.

As searches continued, emergency services said 14 survivors had been found. They managed to make their way out of the bay's waters, which come in faster than a human can run.

The dead were taken to a coastguard station in the coastal town of Morecambe. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "They were out collecting cockles and appear to have become trapped, possibly by mud."

Home Office minister Beverly Hughes said the deaths underlined the potentially tragic dangers for people who are smuggled into Britain by "highly organised criminal elements".

She told the BBC that the Morecambe Bay victims were "mostly Chinese people" who were transported into Britain by "the ruthless gangs, snakeheads and so on who operate globally and transport people for labour exploitation."

The minister added the government was pressing China to overcome its reluctance to allow the repatriation of illegal immigrants, especially in the cases where an immigrant's identity is not certain. -AFP