Up to 20 Vietnamese feared among 39 dead in UK truck

NGHE AN, VIETNAM: As many as 20 Vietnamese citizens are feared among 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain this week, families and community organisers said on Saturday, as one of the alleged truck owners denied involvement in the tragedy.

British police initially said all of the 31 men and eight women found early on Wednesday in a refrigerated lorry in an industrial park in Grays, east of London, were believed to be Chinese nationals.

Four people have been held over the incident, which has shocked Britain and shed light on dangerous trafficking routes into Europe taken by undocumented migrants. Many Vietnamese families fear their relatives, who may have been carrying fake Chinese passports, are among the victims.

Britain-based community group Viethome said it received “photos of nearly 20 people reported missing, age 15-45” from Vietnam, a source for migrants looking to move to the UK.

Nguyen Dinh Gia told AFP on Saturday he got a call from his son two weeks ago saying he was planning to go to Britain where he hoped to work in a nail salon.

His 20-year-old son Nguyen Dinh Luong had been living in France and said the journey would c ost 1 1 , 0 0 0 pounds ($14,000).

But Gia received a call several days ago from a Vietnamese man saying “Please have some sympathy, something unexpected happened,” he recounted to AFP.

A 26-year-old Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My is also believed to be among the victims after her family received a text message from her hours before the migrants were discovered.