When Li Hua handed over £ 14,000 to a Chinese professional trafficking gang, he was promised a "dream" life in the UK.

But the journey was not easy, it took up to two years and Li had to work as a slave to cover the costs of the process. "For two years of hard travel on the road, we traveled through hundreds of unfamiliar places," Li said in an exclusive interview with Sun. "We are not allowed to ask anything."

Arriving in England in 2004, Li immediately faced a grim reality. He was in a shabby room, sleeping on the concrete floor with 25 other men, collecting shellfish daily in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire.

Just one week after Li started his job, tragedy struck. Without a word of warning, he and 23 other "slaves" had to fight for their life because they were trapped in the bay at high tide. Li is the only survivor.

The tragedy of shellfish slaves in Morecambe has many similarities with the case of 39 victims, suspected illegal immigrants, died in containers in Essex County last week.

Like Li Hua, the victims also seem to have paid a large sum of up to £ 33,000 (more than $ 42,000), leaving the "hard-headed" gangs to get them to work in the UK.

Li was born and raised in a poor province in southern China. He arrived in England at 26 years old. And like many Chinese immigrant workers, he has to cope with a huge debt because of his dream of changing his life in Europe.

"In the village, I sell vegetables to make a living but only have enough to eat. I want to make more for my family," Li said.

So, when the traffickers offered him an opportunity to come to England, he immediately grabbed it, even though it cost up to £ 14,000 (nearly $ 18,000). Mother Li had to take the family's home to pledge the traffickers.

"I paid a lot of money and was promised a better job. They told me I would live in a comfortable, comfortable place," he recalls.

Li Hua's story can be seen as typical in Fujian province, China, where the population community tends to be willing to spend all their savings to send young men to work in Europe with their hope. Expect to get a good sum of money after 3 to 4 years.

Thanks to hiding in a truck, Li Hua came to England successfully. He was later taken to London and left here penniless. Li also does not speak English.

"I was thrown into the Chinese neighborhood in London and was not allowed to ask anything," he said. "A man approached and told me I had a job in Liverpool. I accepted, did not hesitate."

"When they arrived they told me the job was to pick up clams. None of us had done this work before but we all needed work to survive," Li said.

Instead of a life as easy as promised, Li, now 42, is forced to work seven days a week in cold conditions for a mere £ 10 (nearly $ 13) a day.

"The work is very hard, working all 7 days a week. You are given a tool to dig, see clams then pick them up with your hands. One must pick up at least 2 to 3 bags a day," Li said. .

Li's group only ate bread and white water daily, sleeping on the frozen concrete floor. He was so afraid of mafia traffickers that he was willing to work for a week without pay and with very little food but didn't dare complain.

"The place is stinking and cold, and there are no heaters," Li said. "We only had bread and tea or water for breakfast. The 25 of us slept in the same room, all lined up next to each other on the concrete floor, each with a blanket. There was nothing clean but You just need a place to rest and sleep. "

"Every day you will have to work to the point of exhaustion, no longer able to cook, eat or bath. Just sleep," Li said.

"Slaves" like Li are not provided with safety equipment, such as life jackets. They were not even warned about the dangers of erratic tides and sandbanks.

"We just followed orders, not knowing what the danger was because there was no choice but to believe in the boss," Li said.

On a cold winter night in February 2004, Li and 23 others were engulfed in the freezing tides of Morecambe Bay while at work. Li was swung up and down by the waves as he tried to swim to survive.

"Everyone was screaming, screaming and panicking. I saw the scene of people drowning, drowning in the sea floor and never emerging again," Li said. "I was scared, panicked and helpless. I thought I would definitely die. But suddenly, everything around me became quiet. I could no longer hear any sounds, I could not feel the pulse. around, only deadly silence beside the sound of the waves. "

"My whole body was numb, I didn't even feel cold anymore when I realized all the people next to me that day drowned," he said.

Li was later rescued by the coast guard and returned to shore. He saw the bodies of 23 workers digging oysters lined up on the beach. Their clothes were stripped off by violent waves. Survey results show that employers like Li make about one million pounds (nearly $ 1.3 million) a day from the "slave" network, but the victims are paid only £ 10 for the effort they spend.

Even after the disaster, Li was so threatened by his bosses that he had to tell the police that he and the group were on a picnic when swept away by the tide. The investigators immediately realized he was too scared to speak the truth. They put him in the witness protection program.

Due to the evidence that Li provided in court, the owner of the "modern slavery" system, Lin Liang Ren, was convicted of manslaughter, harboring illegal immigrants and providing conditions. substandard labor. This man was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Li has now rebuilt her life and has two children. "I want to win back justice for the dead," he stressed. "All I want is to earn enough to live day by day and be treated fairly, but everything he (Lin Liang Ren) cares about is money."