Essex lorry deaths: Police say all victims might be Vietnamese

Victims of Essex lorry death who were earlier presumed as Chinese by the Police have been thought to be from Vietnam, Essex Police said on November 1. As the confirmatory evidence is yet to be gathered from a number of different countries and formally presented to the HM senior coroner for consideration, the identity of the 39 migrants could not be announced, they added. The Police have contacted the Vietnamese Government for the same, said Tim Smith, the assistant chief constable to media. He added that they are in direct contact with a number of families in Vietnam and the UK, and believe to have identified families for some of the victims whose journey ended in the tragedy. 

Read: UK Police On Lookout For Two Brothers Over 39 Truck Deaths In Essex

Man caught in CCTV at Belgium arrested

The statement follows the arrest of a man from Northern Ireland who is accused of the deaths. Eamonn Harrison, 22 faces 41 charges, including 39 manslaughter charges, conspiracy to commit human trafficking and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, after the endorsement of a European arrest warrant. He appeared at the court in Dublin on November 1. DS Jim Kirwan of the garda’s extradition unit told the court that he is the suspect of delivering the trailer to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before its onward journey to England as CCTV footage from a truck stop in Veurne, Belgium, showed him to be the driver of the lorry that later deposited the trailer. Harrison was arrested at Dublin last week and is to face an extradition hearing later this month.

Read: 2 More Arrested After 39 Dead Body Found In Essex Truck Container

Two more arrested on similar charges, two other brothers remain absconding

Harrison is the second to be arrested on similar charges after Maurice “Mo” Robinson, 25, another Northern Ireland haulier who collected the trailer from Purfleet in Essex. The arrests in the UK followed two more arrests in Vietnam on Friday on suspicion of involvement in the deaths. Many were summoned by the Police in Vietnam for an investigation into human trafficking. The UK police have also started looking for two brothers Ronan Hughes, 40, and Christopher Hughes, 34, both from Armagh in Northern Ireland believed to be connected with the deaths. 

Read: UK: Probe Expands Into Deaths Of 39 People In Truck In Essex

Five more arrests

Five others from Ireland have been arrested in connection with Essex lorry deaths. It includes Robinson, 25, who drove the lorry container in which the eight women and 31 men were found. He is charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, and money laundering. Allegations against him also include the claim that he is a part of a global ring of traffickers. Ronan Hughes, who is believed to be hiring Robinson to collect the lorry from Purfleet reportedly phoned police soon after the discovery of the bodies and said Robinson was unaware of the clandestine human cargo. 

Read: Chinese Media: 'Britain Must Accept Responsibility For Essex Incident'