The 39 people found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex were Chinese nationals, police have confirmed, as they secured extra time to hold a Northern Irish man on suspicion of murder.
The victims, discovered in a refrigerated trailer in Grays on Wednesday, were eight women and 31 men, Essex police added.
In a statement, the Chinese embassy in London said: “We read with a heavy heart the reports about the death of 39 people in Essex, England. We are in close contact with the British police to seek clarification and confirmation of the relevant reports.”
The trailer had arrived in the UK from Zeebrugge early on Wednesday morning. Belgian authorities released details about the trailer’s journey as UK police pressed ahead with a murder investigation.
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Essex police secured a warrant of further detention from magistrates at Basildon for a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, named as Mo Robinson. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and will remain in custody for up to an additional 24 hours.
The lorry was parked on Eastern Avenue shortly after it arrived as an unaccompanied trailer at Purfleet docks, just a few minutes’ drive away.
On Thursday, police officers continued to search the scene at the industrial estate where the lorry was parked before being removed on Wednesday evening. The road remains cordoned off, and officers could be seen conducting fingertip searches of the road behind a tall green plastic screen.
The Belgian federal prosecutor, Eric Van Duyse, announced on Thursday he had opened an inquiry into the deaths of the 39 people, to focus on all parties involved in the transport.
He told local media: “Up till now, we have a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. We don’t even know which road was followed by the truck in Belgium. We don’t know how much time it stayed in Belgian territory.
“We don’t know if it stopped or not. We don’t know if the people got into the container or not. So, we have a lot of questions that we are hoping to find [answers to].”
Source: Essex lorry deaths: all 39 victims were Chinese nationals
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