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39 Found Dead in Truck in U.K. 39 Found Dead in Truck in U.K., Prompting Murder Investigation
(32 minutes later)
LONDON — The police in eastern England have opened a murder investigation after the bodies of 39 people were found in a truck in an industrial park in the early hours of Wednesday.LONDON — The police in eastern England have opened a murder investigation after the bodies of 39 people were found in a truck in an industrial park in the early hours of Wednesday.
The bodies were discovered in a vehicle at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, in the county of Essex, around 25 miles east of London on the River Thames, the Essex Police said in a statement. The bodies were discovered in the vehicle at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, in the county of Essex, near the major river crossing on the main freeway encircling Greater London, the Essex Police said in a statement.
“This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives,” Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner of the Essex Police said. “Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened.”“This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives,” Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner of the Essex Police said. “Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened.”
The emergency services were called to the site shortly before 1:40 a.m., but all 39 people were pronounced dead at the scene. According to the police, they were called to the site shortly before 1:40 a.m., but all 39 people were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, a 25-year-old-man from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. According to the police, it appeared that all but one of the dead, a teenager, were adults, but determining the victims’ identities will be a lengthy process.The driver, a 25-year-old-man from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. According to the police, it appeared that all but one of the dead, a teenager, were adults, but determining the victims’ identities will be a lengthy process.
The police believe the truck, which is from Bulgaria, entered Britain at Holyhead port in Wales on Saturday, more than 300 miles northwest of where it was discovered on Wednesday.The police believe the truck, which is from Bulgaria, entered Britain at Holyhead port in Wales on Saturday, more than 300 miles northwest of where it was discovered on Wednesday.
Vehicles entering Holyhead typically come from Ireland, but what route the truck took remains unclear, as do the nationalities of those inside. Vehicles entering Holyhead typically come from Ireland, but what route the truck took remains unclear, as do the nationalities of those inside. Pippa Mills, the deputy chief constable of Essex Police, said the police had been called to the scene by the local ambulance service, but she did not know who had alerted the ambulance service.
“We have arrested the lorry driver in connection with the incident who remains in police custody as our enquiries continue,” Mr. Mariner said. The police were in the “early stages of what is likely to be a lengthy investigation,” she said at a news conference, and appealed for information from the public.
“This is an absolute tragedy and very sad day for Essex police and the local community,” Ms. Mills said, describing the truck as a “complex scene” that was being examined by experts.
While the circumstances that led to the deaths remained unclear, there have been a string of tragedies involving migrants and laborers being smuggled across Europe in trucks. In 2015, the decomposing bodies of 71 migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan were discovered in a truck abandoned on the side of an Austrian highway; four men were later convicted and imprisoned for the deaths. While the circumstances that led to the deaths remained unclear, early signs suggested a people-smuggling endeavor gone tragically wrong. But if the truck were being used to traffic migrants into Britain, the route would be atypical.
There has been a series of similar incidents in Austria, and in 2000, 58 Chinese migrants were found suffocated in a truck in Dover, in southeastern England after crossing from mainland Europe. The driver of that truck, who was Dutch, was eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter and conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants. “If the lorry came from Bulgaria, getting into Britain via Holyhead is an unorthodox route,” Seamus Leheny, Northern Ireland policy manager for the Freight Transport Association, told the Press Association.
He noted that as security checks have increased at ports like Dover and Calais, some may see it as an easier smuggling route to travel from the French ports of Cherbourg or Roscoff to the Irish port of Rosslare, and then make their way to Britain via Holyhead. But, he added, that the route would add an extra day to the journey.
“If there are weaknesses at Irish ports or Irish airports, they will exploit them and use them, because once you’re into Ireland, effectively you’re into the U.K.,” Dave Wood, a former director general of immigration enforcement, told the BBC last year.
A migrant coming from Calais or Dunkirk in northern France, known stopping points, could use a fraudulently obtained European Union passport to fly to Dublin, where migrants describe screening for illegal immigrants as being weaker than at London airports.
A spokesman for the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had no immediate information about the situation but was working with the British authorities.
There have been a string of tragedies involving migrants and laborers being smuggled across Europe in trucks. In 2015, the decomposing bodies of 71 migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan were discovered in a truck abandoned on the side of an Austrian highway; four men were later convicted and imprisoned for the deaths.
There has been a series of similar incidents in Austria, and in 2000, 58 Chinese migrants were found suffocated in a truck in Dover, in southeastern England after crossing from mainland Europe. The driver of that truck, who was Dutch, was eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter and conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants.
As details of the grisly discovery in Essex were still emerging, the news of the discovery of dozens of bodies drew outrage and horror from many in Britain, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson.As details of the grisly discovery in Essex were still emerging, the news of the discovery of dozens of bodies drew outrage and horror from many in Britain, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jackie Doyle-Price, a Conservative member of Parliament who represents the constituency where the truck was discovered, called the news “sickening.”Jackie Doyle-Price, a Conservative member of Parliament who represents the constituency where the truck was discovered, called the news “sickening.”
The industrial park is a short drive from the Dartford Crossing, where London’s orbital motorway passes under and over the Thames. A local resident, Paige Wade, described to Sky News seeing police tape cordoning off the entrance to the industrial park as she drove home from work at around 4:15 a.m. The industrial park is a short drive from the Dartford Crossing, where London’s orbital motorway passes under and over the Thames. A local resident, Paige Wade, described to the Press Association seeing police tape cordoning off the entrance to the industrial park as she drove home from work at around 4:15 a.m.
“I knew it was serious because of how many police cars and ambulances were there, but the police had parked their cars across the whole access of the road so you couldn’t see anything,” she said. “There’s always lorries around there as they park up there for the night.”“I knew it was serious because of how many police cars and ambulances were there, but the police had parked their cars across the whole access of the road so you couldn’t see anything,” she said. “There’s always lorries around there as they park up there for the night.”
Britain has long been a destination for migrants, and smugglers have often used the crossings over the English Channel to traffic people into the country. Britain has long been a destination for migrants, and smugglers have often used the crossings over the English Channel to traffic people into the country. Just days before the discovery, five people were arrested, including four men in Britain, after 13 migrants including a child were discovered in a cattle truck in Calais, en route to Britain.
Just days before the discovery, five people were arrested, including four men in Britain, after 13 migrants including a child were discovered in a cattle truck in the French port of Calais, en route to Britain. Police searched properties in Essex and West Sussex, and seized about 100,000 pounds in cash. In that incident, the police also searched properties in Grays, and in Worthing, in West Sussex on England’s south coast, seizing around 100,000 pounds in cash — about $130,000.
British and French authorities have stepped up security at the Calais crossing in the years since the 2015 migrant crisis that saw hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants make their way into Europe by crossing the Mediterranean or overland. Many desperately turned to smugglers to facilitate their journey.
Benjamin Mueller contributed reporting.