ed after 39 victims found in Essex truck container
Fourth person arrested in Essex truck case
A 48-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and of conspiracy to traffic people in connection to the investigation into the 39 bodies discovered inside a truck in Essex on Wednesday.
The suspect was arrested at Stansted Airport, the Deputy Chief Constable from Essex Police, Pippa Mills, said in a televised statement on Friday.
Mills also said the three suspects who had been arrested previously remained in custody.
Trailer company shared GPS information with police
The owner of the trailer inside which 39 people were found dead on Wednesday has shared the GPS tracking information with British Police.
The bodies were discovered when police was called by emergency services to an industrial park in Essex, in the United Kingdom
GPS tracking was activated throughout the entire lease, Danny McNamee, the lawyer representing GTR, the company that owns the trailer, told CNN on Friday.
McNamee also said the trailer allowed for real-time monitoring of the temperature, information which is shared with the truck tractor and the driver.
McNamee was unaware if that information would had been sent out remotely.
Asked if the company conducted background checks on haulers it leased its trailers too, McNamee said this type of rental, to a local hauler, was their “bread and butter.”
“GTR would have no problem with that rental,” he said, adding that, “The company is completely shocked by this incident.”
Vietnamese embassy working with Essex police
The Vietnamese Embassy in London has been in contact with Essex Police with the view of establishing if there were any Vietnamese nationals on board the truck where 39 people were found dead on Wednesday.
According to the embassy, Vietnamese officials heard rumors that there could have been Vietnamese victims inside the truck on Thursday and sent a consular official to Essex on Friday to coordinate with British authorities.
The embassy was unable to specify how many Vietnamese nationals are suspected to be among the 39 victims.
Truck container crossed English Channel on the Clementine ferry, CNN ascertains
The truck container found carrying 39 bodies in Essex was transported from Belgium to the UK on a ferry called the Clementine, CNN has ascertained.
The Clementine belongs to Cobelfret Ferries and regularly shuttles between Zeebrugge, Belgium, and Purfleet, UK, according to maritime timetables seen by CNN.
The Clementine’s timetable matches the timetable provided by UK Police which states that it arrived at Purfleet shortly after midnight on October 23, 2019. No other ship traveled this route for several hours either side of this timeframe.
Cobelfret Ferries confirmed to CNN that one of their ferries transported the container but refused to detail which one. They separately confirmed that the Clementine was one of their ferries. They refused to comment on whether the Clementine carried the container from Zeebrugge to Purfleet.
At this stage the ferry company is not under investigation by authorities but questions have been raised as to how the container could travel through Zeebrugge Port and board a ferry, if it was potentially carrying 39 bodies.
Cobelfret Ferries parent company, C.RO Ports, released a statement on Thursday saying they were assisting “UK, Belgium and other law enforcement authorities with their ongoing investigation.”
More victims’ bodies transported for post-mortem examinations
Private ambulances have transported more victims’ bodies on Friday afternoon to Broomfield hospital in Chelmsford, according to Britain’s PA news agency.
PA reported that three ambulances left the Port of Tilbury — where the truck was being held in a secure location — at about 1:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m. ET).
Eleven bodies were transported on Thursday night so that post-mortem examinations could be carried out.
“The picture may change regarding identification,” police say
Essex Police said in a statement that the first post-mortem examinations will begin Friday, after the bodies of the victims inside the truck were transported from the Port of Tilbury to a mortuary.
Formal identification will then follow the coronial process and will be a lengthy but crucial part of this investigation,” Essex Police said.
Police added that as their investigation continues, “the picture may change regarding identification, and we will continue to provide updates when appropriate under the direction of HM Coroner.”
BREAKING: Two people arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and manslaughter
A man and a woman, both 38 years old, have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 39 people, according to Essex Police.
They were arrested in Warrington in northern England on suspicion of human trafficking and manslaughter, officers said.
The 25-year-old Northern Irish truck driver remains in custody on suspicion of murder, police added.
The truck had not re-entered Bulgaria since 2017
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister said today that the truck found with 39 bodies inside in Grays, England, had not entered Bulgaria since 2017.
Speaking on Bulgarian television channel bTV, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said: “The truck was registered in 2017, in Bulgaria.”
“It then leaves Bulgaria, and never re-enters Bulgaria again,” he said. “There is no way that we can be connected, except for the registration plate of the truck. Despite this, we are working very well with the British authorities.”
Some background: CNN saw the truck being moved later on Wednesday. Police said it would be moved to a “secure location” at Tilbury docks, about a 20-minute drive away from Grays, to “maintain the dignity of those who have lost their lives.”
Paul Berry — a local councilor for Armagh in Northern Ireland — identified the driver of the truck as Morris Robinson. Berry told CNN that he learned of the arrest after speaking with Robinson’s father.
9 people found alive in separate truck on a UK highway, police say
In a separate incident, nine people — all alive — have been found in the back of a truck, the UK’s Kent Police said in a statement today.
They were found on a highway and “are now being checked as a precaution by the South East Coast Ambulance Service before they are passed to Home Office immigration officers,” the statement said.
The discovery comes after 39 bodies were found in a truck container in Essex. The driver has been arrested on suspicion of murder and an investigation is underway.
Truck driver identified as Morris Robinson
The driver of a truck that was found with 39 bodies inside in the town of Grays, England, on Wednesday has been identified by a local councillor as Morris Robinson.
Paul Berry, the local councillor for Armagh (the area where Robinson lives in Northern Ireland), told CNN he learned of the arrest after speaking with Robinson’s father.
Berry confirmed to CNN the identity of the driver, saying that he was known locally as “Mo.” He said Robinson’s family is “salt of the earth and clearly we need to give them space”.
Earlier Wednesday, Essex Police said a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland remains in custody on suspicion of murder.
“I will not be commenting on the identity of the suspect of this man,” Deputy Chief Constable of Essex Police Pippa Mills said during a news conference.
Here’s a photo of Robinson:
British Red Cross assisting forensic teams at the scene
The British Red Cross will assist in the identification process and offer support to families, an official told reporters.
“I can’t overstate how big a tragedy it is that 39 people felt like they had no better option than to get in the back of this truck and obviously it’s ended in an absolute tragedy,” said Matthew Carter, an emergency communications delegate for the British Red Cross.
He said the Red Cross is also offering support to the forensic team.
“Somewhere where they can come and reflect, have a chat. It’s not something they (forensics) deal with on a day to day basis,” Carter said.
What we know about the timeline of the truck
Detectives are still piecing together the series of events that led to the discovery of 39 bodies in a truck in an Essex industrial estate. Here are the key timings that have been established by Essex Police thus far.
- 12:30 a.m.: The container is now thought to have traveled from the Belgian port city of Zeebrugge into Purfleet, Essex, and docked in the Thurrock area shortly after 12:30 a.m., according to police The tractor unit of the truck is believed to have originated in Northern Ireland.
- 1:05 a.m.: Police say they believe the truck and container left the port shortly after 1:05 a.m. local time.
- 1:40 a.m.: Shortly after this time, ambulance workers called police to report that 39 people had been discovered dead in the container of a truck at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Eastern Avenue.
Essex Police
✔@EssexPoliceUK
Please find our latest statement about our investigation into the discovery of 39 bodies in a container in #Grays today.
Those responsible for Essex truck deaths must be “swiftly brought to justice,” UN Secretary General says
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has shared his horror in response to the discovery of 39 bodies in a truck in the UK, saying that those responsible for the tragedy “must be swiftly brought to justice.”
António Guterres
✔@antonioguterres
I am horrified and deeply saddened by the discovery of 39 bodies in a lorry in the UK. My deepest condolences to all who have lost family and loved ones.
Those responsible must be swiftly brought to justice.
Flowers laid in tribute to 39 deceased
Flowers have been laid at the entrance to the industrial park in Grays, Essex, where 39 bodies were found inside a truck container.
“My heart is broken for them,” Grays resident says
A Grays resident, who lives one street away from the industrial estate where the truck was found, said his heart was broken for the 39 people who died inside.
“It’s so sad. My heart is broken for them,” Shafi Said, a 35-year-old taxi driver, said. “They’re all innocent people — and there was a child on board. I’ve got an 11-year-old son, I was so shocked — if you put yourself in their position, yeah it’s very shocking.”
Said, who said he moved to Essex from Afghanistan in 2001, told CNN that the local area is very industrial and that trucks are “always passing by.”
He said he didn’t find out about the incident until he looked on Facebook and saw a post from the police.
What we know now
UK police have launched a murder investigation after 39 people were found dead in a truck container at an industrial park in Essex, 30 kilometers east of London.
Here’s everything we know about the investigation so far:
- Police believe the container arrived in Purfleet, England early Wednesday morning from the Belgian port city of Zeebrugge.
- Just over an hour later, at around 1:40 a.m., officers were called to the truck, parked in an industrial estate in Grays, by ambulance workers.
- Earlier, Essex Police had reported that the Bulgaria-registered vehicle had entered the UK through the Welsh port of Holyhead over the weekend. A regular ferry service connects Holyhead with the Irish capital, Dublin. Police later said only the truck, and not the container, had originated in Northern Ireland.
- A 25-year-old Northern Irish truck driver was arrested “on suspicion of murder” after the bodies were discovered at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays early on Wednesday morning.
- Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills told reporters that it was the police’s “number one priority” to find out who the people who died were, and where they were from.
- One of the victims was in their teens.
- The force has set up a helpline for people to call if they are concerned their relatives might have been among those inside the truck.
Truck set to be moved to a secure location
The truck and container will be moved to a “secure location” shortly to “maintain the dignity of those who have lost their lives,” Deputy Chief Constable of Essex Police Pippa Mills said on Wednesday.
“We are yet to identify them,” she said of the bodies.
The truck and trailer will be moved to Tilbury Docks, about a 20 minute drive from its current location.
Responding to reports identifying the 25-year-old in custody since this morning, Mills said she “would not be commenting.”
The individual was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said earlier Wednesday.
Breaking: UK police now believe truck container came from Belgium
UK authorities investigating the discovery of 39 bodies inside a truck container in southeastern England on Wednesday morning now believe that the container traveled from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
Essex Police released an updated statement a short while ago saying:
After further enquiries, we now believe that the trailer travelled from Zeebrugge into Purfleet, and docked in the Thurrock area shortly after 12:30am this morning. The tractor unit of the lorry is believed to have originated in Northern Ireland.
Irish police assisting investigation of truck deaths in the UK
Northern Irish authorities are working with their English counterparts in Essex following the grim discovery of 39 bodies in what appears to be a refrigerated truck on Wednesday.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland tweeted that it was “supporting” the murder investigation.
Police Service NI
✔@PoliceServiceNI
The PSNI is supporting Essex Police in its investigation into the murder of 39 people.
Separately, a spokesperson for police in the Republic of Ireland told CNN it was “monitoring the developing investigation in the UK and will provide every assistance possible.”
The number of migrants being smuggled into the UK by covert means is increasing
Authorities in the UK have seen a rise in the number of migrants using “clandestine” methods like containers and refrigerated trucks to illegally enter the UK over the last 12 months.
“The past year has seen increasing use of higher-risk methods of clandestine entry,” the UK’s National Crime Agency said in its latest report on Serious and Organised Crime.
“These include the movement of migrants (including children) into the UK in containers, refrigerated HGVs [heavy goods vehicle] and small boats, at a high risk to life of those migrants smuggled.”
The report acknowledged that the extent of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK was not truly understood. But it did say that the potential victims identified through the National Referral Mechanism — a process to support and track data about victims — had increased by 36%, between 2017 and 2018.
This is not an unprecedented incident
People losing their lives while trying to unlawfully enter European countries in truck containers has happened before.
Earlier this year, four human traffickers were jailed for life by a Hungarian court after the bodies of 71 migrants were discovered in the back of an abandoned truck in Austria, according to Reuters.
In 2000, authorities in the British port of Dover discovered the bodies of 58 Chinese migrants who suffocated in the back of an airtight truck during a ferry crossing from the Netherlands.
Today, with more stringent border checks in place — utilizing technology like thermal imaging cameras to identify migrants hidden within vehicles — the option has become much more difficult and costly to attempt, with smugglers charging thousands of euros for passage.
“The UK has invested a lot of money in protecting the lorry routes” from migrants crossing from France, said Nando Sigona, an associate professor in international migration at the University of Birmingham told CNN earlier this year. “That route has probably been sealed off, or made more difficult to pursue.”
Bulgarian embassy in London is in touch with British authorities over truck deaths
Bulgaria’s embassy in London is in contact with British authorities to “clarify” circumstances around the truck found in southeast England which contained 39 bodies, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
Essex police earlier on Wednesday said that the truck came from Bulgaria.
At present, it has not yet been confirmed whether the truck has a Bulgarian registration. There is also no indication of the nationality of the human bodies found in the truck. British police have warned that the identification of the bodies will take a long time,” the statement said.
A Bulgarian embassy representative had a meeting at the Foreign Office in London, the statement adds, and the country’s ambassador spoke with the UK ambassador in Sofia, Bulgaria, agreeing to follow up on the case together.
Local businesses arrived at scene to find it locked down this morning
Authorities locked down the scene at the industrial park in Grays, east of London, quickly on Wednesday. Police erected green fencing around the truck to block it from onlookers, according to a CNN team on the ground.
Meanwhile fire and emergency support services are also working the site.
The wider industrial estate is made up of courier and logistics companies, PA news agency reported citing Dan Peters, a managing director of Pirtek, a hydraulic maintenance company based on the street the truck was found.
“Obviously, it’s terrible news,” Peters said. “We’re not able to gain access to our units to open up for daily business.”
Home Secretary describes truck discovery as “truly shocking”
Following Prime Minister’s Questions, Home Secretary Priti Patel updated the House of Commons on the latest developments in the investigation. She expressed her sympathy for the victims and paid tribute to the emergency response workers for their efforts.
“I think the whole House will agree this is truly a truly shocking incident. My thoughts and all thoughts and condolences are with the victims and their loved ones at this utterly terrible time,” Patel said.
Patel said she had asked Home Office officials “to work closely with the investigation, providing all assistance we can in these horrific circumstances.”
Boris Johnson: Perpetrator should be hunted down and brought to justice
Boris Johnson has been speaking in the UK House of Commons on Wednesday lunchtime during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Local Thurrock lawmaker Jackie Doyle-Price said: “To put 39 people into a locked metal container shows a contempt for human life that is evil. The best thing we can do in memory of those victims is to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
In response, the PM said:
I must say I do share [Doyle-Price’s] strong desire now for the perpetrators of that crime, and indeed all those who engage in similar activity — because we know that this trade is going on — all such traders in human beings should be hunted down and brought to justice.”
Irish leader promises investigation if truck passed through country
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Ireland’s parliament Wednesday the incident in southeast England was a “tragedy” before promising to “carry out any investigations that are necessary if it’s established the truck passed through Ireland.”
Earlier a spokesperson for Irish police told CNN it was “monitoring the developing investigation in the UK and will provide every assistance possible.”
Here’s what we know so far
CNN International
✔@cnni
39 bodies have been found in a truck in Essex, southeast England, police say. Ambulance services were alerted by an unknown source in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but further details remain unclear, CNN’s @scottmclean reports. https://cnn.it/31DtFCU
UK police have confirmed 39 people were found in a truck in an industrial estate east of London. The investigation has only just gotten underway but here’s what we know:
- When the bodies were discovered? Local police were called to the scene at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex, by ambulance services shortly before 1.40 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It is unclear who alerted the ambulance personnel. Emergency services pronounced all 39 people dead at the scene.
- Who are they? Preliminary signs point to 38 adults and one teenager, Essex Police said in a statement. “At this stage we have not identified where the victims are from or their identities,” Pippa Mills, Essex Police Deputy Chief Constable, said a short while ago.
- The truck came from Bulgaria: Police have said they believe the truck entered the UK through the Welsh port of Holyhead over the weekend. The route has been described as an unusual but some haulage industry experts have suggested this may have been in a bid to dodge stricter border checks at Calais and Dover.
- One man has been arrested: A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder, the police statement added.
BREAKING: Police provide update on investigation
Deputy chief constable Pippa Mills has just briefed reporters for the first time since news emerged of 39 bodies found inside a container of a truck in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Mills described the incident as an “absolute tragedy” and said that officials had not been able to identify the individuals or where they may have come from at this stage.
“The identification of the victims remains our number one priority,” she said, adding that it could be a lengthy process. Mills appealed to the public to come forward with any information.
She also said it was a “complex scene” with authorities working to follow lines of inquiry.
Politicians react to incident on Twitter
In the wake of the tragic discovery in Essex this morning, several UK lawmakers are taking to social media to convey their condolences.
Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party wrote:
Horrifying news coming from Essex this morning. Thinking of those who have impacted and their families during such a distressing time. https://t.co/msSJxSwSsY
— Arlene Foster (@DUPleader) October 23, 2019
Anna Soubry, leader for the Independent Group for Change, urged people to avoid speculation and allow authorities to conduct their investigations.
This is a terrible tragedy. Essex police must be able to continue their investigations free of speculation so all those responsible can be brought to justice. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased. https://t.co/Hv7owG4TVM
— Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) October 23, 2019
What’s happening at the scene now
Aerial footage from the scene in the industrial park in southeast England shows the truck, where 39 bodies were found, behind a taped cordon.
One tent has been erected at the rear of the vehicle and officers in white jumpsuits can be seen walking around the site. A second tent has been pitched up in front of the truck with police vehicles parked nearby.
BREAKING: 39 bodies have been found in a truck in Essex, southeast England, police say.
A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. CNN’s @scottmclean brings you the latest from Essex: https://t.co/yXLgCq2jEw pic.twitter.com/yv5Ebr4Ijd
— CNN International (@cnni) October 23, 2019