This archive report was first published on 2 November 2019.
On November 1, 2019, Vietnamese police arrested two people in connection with the deaths of 39 people found in a refrigerated truck in England.
As part of the investigation into the deaths, an official from the Essex Police in England urged two brothers in Northern Ireland to turn themselves in for questioning.
Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith of the Essex Police stated that the victims were believed to be Vietnamese nationals and that the police had identified families for some of the victims.
The Ha Tinh regional police in central Vietnam summoned several others for questioning on suspicion of helping people to travel abroad illegally.
On the same day, a 23-year-old truck driver from Northern Ireland, Eamon Harrison, was charged in Ireland with 39 counts of manslaughter, human trafficking, and immigration offenses in connection to the case.
Irish authorities began the process to extradite Mr. Harrison to Britain, where he is the second truck driver to be charged in the case.
The refrigerated container was found in an industrial park near the ferry terminal at Purfleet, England, where it had arrived by ship from Belgium.
