 They were being exploited by gang leader Lin Liangren, who paid them £5 per 25 kg of cockles.Local authorities were alerted by one of the gang members who contacted them on a mobile phone, but only one of the workers was rescued from the waters; partly because the phone call was unclear both on the extent and severity of the danger, and on their location.A total of 21 bodies, of men and women between the ages of 18 and 45, were recovered from the bay after the incident.