Eight arrested in Vietnam over 39 migrant deaths

Eight people have been arrested by Vietnamese police in connection with the 39 migrants found dead in a lorry in Essex.

They were held on suspicion of organising people smuggling overseas.

The 31 men and eight women who were discovered in the back of the refrigerated truck in Grays are thought to have been Vietnamese.

A spokeswoman for the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the incident a “serious humanitarian tragedy”.

So far two people have been charged in the UK.

Essex Police have started extradition proceedings to bring 22-year-old Eamonn Harrison from the Republic of Ireland to the UK.

Harrison, of Newry in Co Down, Northern Ireland, appeared at the high court in Dublin on Friday charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, along with human trafficking and immigration offences, and was remanded in custody.

The driver of the lorry, Maurice Robinson, 25, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering.

Detectives have also urged Ronan Hughes, 40, and his brother Christopher, 34, said to have links with the road haulage and shipping industries, to hand themselves in.

The pair, from Armagh in Northern Ireland, are wanted on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.

Concerns have been raised that “rogue agents” are targeting private schools to traffic Vietnamese pupils to the UK.

Boarding Schools’ Association chief executive Robin Fletcher said that, in the past two to three years, boarding schools have been made aware of a “small number” of cases where there have been issues with pupils from Vietnam.

The association issued a warning to its members advising “extreme caution” when accepting pupils from Vietnam.

The Independent Schools Council issued a similar warning in 2017.

On Saturday, a remembrance service for the victims was held at a church in Bow, east London, which has a large Vietnamese congregation.

The Reverend Simon Nguyen said the church had assisted with the investigation into the tragedy, including working with the police.