39 victims thought to be Vietnamese

Police believe they have now identified some of the 39 migrants found dead in a refrigerated lorry container near London, with all victims thought to be from Vietnam.

Essex police said on Friday that the identities could not be announced until confirmatory evidence is gathered from a number of different countries and formally presented to the HM senior coroner for consideration.

Tim Smith, the assistant chief constable, said: “At this time, we believe the victims are Vietnamese nationals, and we are in contact with the Vietnamese government.

“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 whose journey ended in tragedy on our shores.”

The news came hours after a man from Northern Ireland was charged with multiple counts of manslaughter.

Eamonn Harrison, 22, appeared in court in Dublin on Friday to face 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.

UK authorities suspect he delivered the trailer to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before its onward journey to England.

CCTV taken at a truck stop in Veurne, Belgium, showed Harrison to be the driver of the lorry that later deposited the trailer at Zeebrugge, DS Jim Kirwan of the garda’s extradition unit told the court.

Harrison, from Mayobridge in County Down, will face an extradition hearing later this month. He was arrested at Dublin port last Saturday after taking a ferry from France.

Source: Agencies

 

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