Vietnamese truck deaths: two found guilty of manslaughter in UK
- A truck driver from Northern Ireland and a Romanian national were found guilty after two others had already pleaded guilty
- The deaths of the 39 people shocked Britain and Vietnam and shone a spotlight on the illicit global trade in migrants
The discovery of so many dead people – some as young as 15 – shocked Britain and Vietnam, and shone a spotlight on the illicit global trade that sends the poor of Asia, Africa and the Middle East on perilous journeys to the West.
As oxygen levels fell in the back of the truck, some tried desperately to escape, but in vain. Others used mobile phones to say their last farewells to devastated relatives on the other side of the world.
“This is an unimaginably tragic case: 39 vulnerable people desperate for a new life were driven to put their trust in a network of unscrupulous people smugglers,” said Russell Tyner, a prosecutor in the Organised Crime Division.
“They died through lack of oxygen, desperately trying to escape from the container. Some were able to express their last words to their families on their mobile phones when they knew their situation was hopeless.”
Eamonn Harrison, a 24-year-old truck driver from Northern Ireland, and Romanian national Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Essex, were found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, following a 10-week trial at England’s Central Criminal Court in London.
Two of the smuggling team had overseen two similar journeys earlier that month.
