[Ammi]

Police have arrested a lorry driver on suspicion of murder after 39 bodies were found in a container in Essex.

Essex Police said it was called by the ambulance service shortly before 1.40am on Wednesday following the discovery of a lorry container with people inside.

It is thought that they found the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager inside the container at Waterglade Industrial Park, Eastern Avenue, Grays.

All 39 people were pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers said the lorry had arrived in the UK from Bulgaria via Holyhead, North Wales on Saturday.

Police have arrested one 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland on suspicion of murder.

Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner said: “This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened.

“We are in the process of identifying the victims, however I anticipate that this could be a lengthy process.

“We believe the lorry is from Bulgaria and entered the country at Holyhead on Saturday 19 October and we are working closely with our partners to investigate.

“We have arrested the lorry driver in connection with the incident who remains in police custody as our enquiries continue. I appreciate this cordon is going to disrupt the activity of local businesses in the area and we will work to ensure that disruption is kept as short as possible. We are working with Thurrock Council to mitigate against any impact our investigation scene will have locally.”

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/police-lau...084103954.html

[arista]

From Bulgaria
he is 25 years old

https://news.sky.com/story/39-dead-b...essex-11842770

[Cal.]

Oh my gosh how horrifying.

So it arrived here Saturday but they were found dead still inside the lorry on Wednesday?

[Cherie]

Horrific, hope they died quickly

[arista]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Horrific, hope they died quickly

No in a Lorry it would be slow
The Northern Irish Driver is 25
Police will try to find , who else is involved in this
Illegal migrant deaths

[arista]

[smudgie]

Tragic

[Toy Soldier]

Horrific for those poor people, and for the attending officers and paramedics.

[Nicky91]

Tragic , but anyway why would they suspect the driver, for all we know they might've been stowaways and he was unaware they were inside

just heard it on our local brabant radio during lunch

[Kazanne]

Anyone know how they died ? was it carbon monoxide poisoning,seems a large group of people to die. its tragic .

[arista]

Originally Posted by Kazanne

Anyone know how they died ? was it carbon monoxide poisoning,seems a large group of people to die. its tragic .

Massive Truck
could be a fridge unit ?

[Ammi]

...their carriage to a more hopeful life became their coffin...I wonder if they were given food and water on their journey...

[Niamh.]

Awful, so sad people feel the need to put themselves in so much danger in search of a better life. We don't know how lucky (and it is pure luck, I think people would do well to remember that sometimes) we are to have been born on this side of the world

[arista]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...their carriage to a more hopeful life became their coffin...I wonder if they were given food and water on their journey...

I think the migrants
take their own water bottles

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Awful, so sad people feel the need to put themselves in so much danger in search of a better life. We don't know how lucky (and it is pure luck, I think people would do well to remember that sometimes) we are to have been born on this side of the world

...I was just thinking similar last night when i was watching some footage in Turkey atm...horrendous and a world we can’t even conceive...

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...I was just thinking similar last night when i was watching some footage in Turkey atm...horrendous and a world we can’t even conceive...

Absolutely, it's very easy to stand back and dehumanise what we can't even comprehend but it could easily have been any one of us here too, we don't get to choose who or where our parents are

[Ammi]

...one of the people was a teenager...I wonder if their families will be able to be located and notified of their deaths...or if they’ll never know....it’s terribly sad...

[Livia]

Some scumbags made a fortune from those people. Anyone caught trafficking people for any reason should spend the rest of their life in prison.

[Eddie.]

Wow 39. A number that's difficult to fathom...

[Toy Soldier]

Honestly (very grim thought) it makes me wonder how many "smuggling" gangs out there even bother making the journey. I would imagine there are groups out there taking people's money, loading them into a truck and driving them straight to a hole in the ground.

The whole situation is just abysmal.

[Nicky91]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_smuggling

here's a wikipedia article about people smuggling, human trafficking

The complexity of the smuggling network is dependent upon the route to be taken and the nature of the journey. For routes that are well-known and tested, smugglers may function more as family enterprises and utilize fairly contained operations. The more complex the route, however, the more members of the smuggling network must be recruited. In general, the infrastructure of the people smuggling business is nontraditional, with no clearly identifiable organization and no rigid structure. The network of smugglers is diffused and decentralized. Smugglers form temporary business alliances, and the organization of smugglers can best be understood and described as ad hoc task forces, in which activities are specialized and controlled by individuals that deal with each other on a one-to-one basis. In the business of people smuggling, there is no single "godfather" figure who commands the activities of subordinates; rather, individuals conduct business on equal grounds and tend to consider themselves free agents. In fact, according to a Los Angeles-based smuggler, "The division of labor is really clear and refined. Everyone involved is useful in his own way and does his own thing only. There is no leadership in any smuggling rings. Leadership will not emerge because the work involved is so specialized".

Over the years, smuggling has evolved into a sophisticated service industry, with certain routes and enclaves used by smugglers becoming practically institutionalized; for example: from Mexico and Central America to the United States, from West Asia through Greece and Turkey to Western Europe, and within East and Southeast Asia. Responsible for the flourishing business of people smuggling are a combination of interacting factors, from weak legislation and lax border controls to corrupt officials and the power of organized crime.

More specifically, below are three main technical differences between smuggling and trafficking, which are as follows:

- Consent - trafficking victims are those who have been subjected to coercive, deceptive, or abusive action by traffickers. These victims either never consented, or if they did, their initial consent is rendered meaningless by the subsequent actions of the traffickers.

- Exploitation - smuggling operations and interaction between smuggler and customer usually terminate upon payment and arrival at destination; trafficking victims, on the other hand, are often involved in a cycle of ongoing exploitation.

- Source of Profits - primary profits from smuggling operations are derived from transportation and facilitation of illegal entry or stay in another country, whereas trafficking operations profit largely from the exploitation of victims.

.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Honestly (very grim thought) it makes me wonder how many "smuggling" gangs out there even bother making the journey. I would imagine there are groups out there taking people's money, loading them into a truck and driving them straight to a hole in the ground.

The whole situation is just abysmal.

Its was reported
the Massive Lorry went to Dublin
by sea, then to Wales
then to Essex.

So many hours
sealed in that Lorry.

[Oliver_W]

"Murder"? Surely it's more likely they were just stowaways who didn't survive the journey?

[arista]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

"Murder"? Surely it's more likely they were just stowaways who didn't survive the journey?

The Police seem to have other evidence
soon to come out.

[Tom4784]

Horrific. I can't imagine it being an accident if the driver's been charged with murder.