Britain starts murder investigation

Britain launched a major murder investigation after 39 dead bodies were found Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) in a refrigerated truck, once again putting the spotlight on the shadowy people

The corpses were found in a truck container at an industrial park in Grays, east of London, triggering

The local Essex Police force, which is working with immigration

was to try to identify the victims, thought at this stage to be 38 adults

The truck’s driver, a 25- yearold man from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remained in custody through Wednesday, the force

“This is an unimaginable tragedy and truly heartbreaking,” Prime

He noted that the perpetrators of people smuggling, trading in human lives, “should be hunted down and

Police were called to the scene at the Waterglade Industrial Park

They later moved the vehicle to a “secure location” at nearby Tilbury docks, “so the bodies can be recovered whilst preserving the dignity of the victims,” deputy chief constable

“It’s absolutely imperative that the operation is conducted with the utmost respect for the 39 people who’ve lost their lives,” she said, adding “this will be a lengthy

Police revealed that the vehicle’s storage trailer section had come by ferry from the Belgian port of Zee

on the River Thames estuary — a

Authorities in Belgium said they police added the ferry docked at and the truck then left the port area

They said the “tractor unit of the lorry’’ — which drives the vehicle — is believed to have originated in

Meanwhile Bulgaria confirmed that the lorry had license plates

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov