This archive report was first published on 26 October 2019.
On October 26, 2019, British police discovered 39 bodies in a refrigerated trailer in Essex, initially stating all victims were Chinese.
However, at least two Vietnamese families have come forward, fearing their relatives are among the victims, who may have been carrying falsified Chinese passports.
Nguyen Dinh Gia received a call from a Vietnamese man, saying 'Please have some sympathy, something unexpected happened.' Gia fell to the ground upon hearing the news, believing his 20-year-old son Nguyen Dinh Luong was among the dead.
Luong had planned to travel to Britain from France, where he had been living illegally since 2018, and was willing to pay $14,000 for the journey.
A 26-year-old Vietnamese woman, Pham Thi Tra My, is also feared to be among the dead, after her family received a heart-wrenching text message from her on Wednesday.
My's message read, 'I'm sorry Mom. My path to abroad doesn't succeed. Mom, I love you so much! I'm dying because I can't breathe.'
