Two convicted over UK truck deaths

A van could be seen leaving a London court on Monday after two people-smugglers were convicted over deaths of 39 Vietnamese people whose bodies were found in back of a truck in souastern England.

A jury at London’s Central Criminal Court found Romanian mechanic Gheorghe Nica, 43, and rrn Irish truck driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, guilty of deaths of Vietnamese nationals, who were discovered de in English town of Grays.

"Today, we have secured justice for 39 incent people and ir loved ones," said Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington.

"We've caught and convicted ringleers of criminal group, which brought m to our country," he ded.

"y thought that y could hide and lie and y thought that y could get away with it. Today, we proved m wrong."

victims, d between 15 and 44, were found on October 23, 2019, inside a refrigerated container that h arrived by ferry from Belgium.

y came from impoverished vills and h paid people-smugglers thousands of dollars to take m on risky journeys to what y hoped would be better lives abro.

Jurors heard harrowing evidence about final hours of victims, who tried to call Vietnam's emergency number to summon help as air in container ran out.

When y could t get a mobile phone signal, some recorded goodbye messs to ir families.

trapped migrants - who included a bricklayer, a restaurant worker, a nail bar technician, a budding beautician and a university gruate - used a metal pole to try to punch through roof of refrigerated container, but only mand to dent it.