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Agencies

British police said on Friday they now believe all 39 people found dead in the back of a truck in Essex near London last week were Vietnamese.
“At this time, we believe the victims are Vietnamese nationals, and we are in contact with the Vietnamese government,” Essex police Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said on Twitter.
“We are in direct contact with a number of families in Vietnam and the UK, and we believe we have identified families for some of the victims,” he added.
The victims were initially identified by British police as Chinese, but families in central Vietnam have since come forward saying their loved ones have not been heard from after they were believed to have crossed into the UK.




Vietnam said on Friday that two people have been arrested for alleged involvement in the case, which has exposed the dangers of illegal people-smuggling from the Asian country to Europe.
Many of the suspected victims came from central Ha Tinh province, where the two arrests were made in connection with “the case of 39 dead bodies found in a container truck in the UK”, according to a statement on the local police website.
The pair were accused of “organising and brokering for other people to go abroad and stay abroad illegally”, it said.
The bodies of the victims were found in a refrigerated trailer on October 23 in an industrial estate in Essex, east of London. Police said the truck came from a Belgian port.
Chinese are being trafficked to UK in soaring numbers
British police have arrested four people over the tragedy and are now seeking to question two brothers from Northern Ireland who have links to the road-haulage and shipping business.
The 25-year-old driver of the truck, Maurice Robinson from Northern Ireland, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter. He was also charged with conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, and money-laundering.
Prosecutors said he was involved in an international trafficking ring as he appeared in court this week.
Three others who were arrested have been released on bail.

Vietnam has said Britain sent documents to help with the complicated task of identifying the bodies, many of whom were believed to be carrying falsified passports.
DNA samples have also been taken from relatives in Vietnam to help with the process. But so far none of the dead have been officially identified.
The truck tragedy has plunged communities in central Vietnam into mourning, as families desperately wait for news.
The region has long been a source of illegal migration to Britain for people seeking better lives. Migrants often work in nail bars or cannabis farms, heavily indebted and vulnerable to exploitation.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse


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UK truck deaths

All 39 truck death victims were Vietnamese, British police say, as Vietnam arrests two in connection with case

A portrait of Bui Thi Nhung, who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, is kept on a prayer altar at her house in Vietnam's Nghe An province on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Candles are lit during a prayer for 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London, in front of Hanoi Cathedral in Hanoi, Vietnam October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES NO ARCHIVES

Northern Irish brothers told to hand themselves in over Essex truck deaths

Police officers drive away a truck in which 39 bodies were discovered in Britain. Photo: AFP

Ronan Hughes (R) and his brother Christopher Hughes. Photo: AP/Essex police

Vietnam makes arrests as it cracks down on people smuggling after UK truck deaths

A portrait of 20-year-old Nguyen Dinh Luong, who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, is kept on a prayer altar at his house in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province. Vietnamese police are cracking down on people smuggling. Photo: AFP

UK truck deaths: families of missing Vietnamese migrants stuck with crippling debt

Nguyen Dinh Gia (right), father of Nguyen Dinh Luong, one of the suspected truck death victims, is embraced by a friend at his home in Ha Tinh province, Vietnam, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Hoang Lanh, father of 18-year old Hoang Van Tiep who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, looks at his son's photograph on his phone at their house in Dien Thinh commune of Vietnam's Nghe An province on October 28, 2019. - Vietnamese officials collected DNA samples on October 27 from relatives of those feared among 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, a security source and a family member told AFP, as villagers held emotional prayers for the victims. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

A handout photo made available by Essex Police in London on October 29, 2019, shows Christopher Hughes (L) and his brother Ronan Hughes, who are being sought in connection with the discovery of the 39 Vietnamese bodies found in a truck in Grays on October 23. - British police probing the deaths of 39 people in a truck said Tuesday they want to question two Northern Irish brothers on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking. Essex Police, which is investigating last week's disaster, said they wanted to speak to Ronan Hughes, 40, and his 34-year-old brother Christopher, who are both from Armagh. Eight women and 31 men were found Wednesday in a refrigeration truck trailer that entered Britain on a ferry from Belgium. Several Vietnamese families fear their relatives are among the dead. (Photo by HO / Essex Police / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ESSEX POLICE " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Tran Thi Hien (C), mother of Bui Thi Nhung, who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, is consoled inside her house in Vietnam's Nghe An province on October 26, 2019. - A photo of her missing daughter Bui Thi Nhung, an offering of fruit and a bouquet of flowers -- a makeshift shrine laid by a desperate mother in a remote Vietnamese town many fear was home to some of the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain. More than 20 Vietnamese are feared to be among the bodies found in a refrigerated trailer in an industrial park in Essex east of London on October 23. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

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Victims initially identified as Chinese nationals, but may have been travelling on fake passports
UK authorities seeking to question two brothers from Northern Ireland who have links to road-haulage and shipping business



Vietnam arrests two suspects in connection with case, while UK seeks to question two brothers from Northern Ireland.


Vietnam

Britain

Human trafficking

Crime

All 39 truck death victims were Vietnamese, British police say, as Vietnam arrests two in connection with case

Victims initially identified as Chinese nationals, but may have been travelling on fake passports UK authorities seeking to question two brothers from Northern Ireland who have links to road-haulage and shipping business

Victims initially identified as Chinese nationals, but may have been travelling on fake passports

UK authorities seeking to question two brothers from Northern Ireland who have links to road-haulage and shipping business