Immigrants are seen clinging to the rocks in this long-range picture

Canadian officials who had been monitoring the vessel said it unloaded its cargo on Wednesday in cold, stormy conditions on the remote and largely uninhabited Queen Charlotte Islands, about 500 miles north west of Vancouver.

The ship was intercepted by a military plane as it tried to flee.

The BBC's Ian Gunn: "This is the second group in a month."

A search and rescue operation is battling against adverse weather conditions to remove the immigrants from the island.

Canadian police who boarded the vessel arrested an eight-strong crew of Korean origin.

Immigration clampdown

This is the second such landing in recent weeks prompting growing calls in Canada, which already has a large Chinese community, for a toughening of immigration laws.

Less than a month ago another ship smuggled 128 Chinese to Canada's Pacific Coast.

George Varney of Canada's immigration service said: "The first vessel had no children. This vessel seems to have a fairly significant number of women, although we don't have an exact count yet, and it has quite a number of very small children."

Canada's immigration minister says in light of the two landings she will review Canada's immigration laws but she is rejecting calls for such ships to be automatically turned away when they enter Canadian waters.

Police and immigration authorities have expressed concerns that Canada may now be facing a human smuggling problem similar to one already experienced by Australia and New Zealand.