"I ned halp dariver no stap car no oksijan in the car no signal iam in the cantenar. Iam no jokan valla," Ahmed, a 7-year-old refugee boy from Afghanistan, texted Liz Clegg, a human rights activist who at the time was attending a conference in New York.
The boy probably attempted to say: "I need help. The driver won't stop the car. No oxygen in the car. I'm in a container. I'm not joking. Wallah [I swear to God]."
After receiving the text, Clegg realized the boy was in desperate need and immediately called Tanya Freedman, a member of the London-based agency Help Refugees.
Freedman in turn alerted police. The police managed to track the location of a lorry truck filled with refugees and immediately went to Leicester Forest East service station.
"I had Ahmad's number and the first thing they did was find an interpreter who spoke Pashto to talk to him. They called him and immediately realized it was an emergency and they were able to put a trace of his cellphone and find out he was in a lorry in Leicestershire," Freedman said, as cited by RT.
When the UK police arrived they found 15 refugees, including the boy, who were all fortunately alive.
"I think it's extraordinary that a 7-year-old boy knew his life was in danger and had the presence of mind to know what to do and give the right information and save himself and the others in the truck," Freedman from Help Refugees Agency said, commenting on the extraordinary ingenuity.
Fourteen refugees discovered in a lorry truck were arrested for entering Britain illegally. The 7-year-old Ahmad was placed into protective custody, the police said.
