This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
On November 27, 2019, a commercial Vietnam Airlines flight from London to Hanoi brought the first remains of the 39 Vietnamese nationals who died in a truck in the UK.
According to an official letter, 16 bodies were expected to arrive in Vietnam on that day, coming from three provinces in central Vietnam.
"The plane landed with 16 bodies on board... we are waiting to transfer the bodies to local authorities," a source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The remains were expected to be delivered later that day to relatives in three central provinces -- Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh -- so families could hold funerals and burial ceremonies.
The bodies of 31 men and eight women were discovered in a refrigerated lorry in an industrial estate in Essex east of London on October 23.
Police initially identified the victims as Chinese, but families in Vietnam later came forward with fears their relatives were on the truck.
Many of the victims hailed from just a handful of central Vietnam provinces, which are among the poorest in the country and where well-entrenched networks of illegal brokers can easily facilitate risky trips abroad.
On Monday, the Northern Irish driver of the truck, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist illegal immigration.
