According to the BBC, British police said on the 24th that 39 bodies found in a container truck in an industrial park in Essex County, southeast England were Chinese nationals. Among them, 8 were women and 31 were men, all of whom were adults. At present, the police have arrested a 25-year-old male truck driver from Northern Ireland on suspicion of murder. After learning of the incident, the Chinese Embassy in the UK issued a statement saying, "the Chinese Embassy in the UK has sent a public counselor in charge of consular affairs to Essex County and contacted the local British police. British police said they were verifying the identity of the victims and were unable to determine whether the victims were Chinese nationals'.
British police: trucks loaded with corpses enter the UK in two parts
According to the latest news released by Essex police, the truck carrying 39 bodies entered the UK in two parts.
Among them, the tractor part, that is, the front of the truck, started from Dublin and entered the UK through hollyhead on October 20. It is reported that part of the tractor comes from Northern Ireland.
The box trailer part started from the port of zebrukh, Belgium, and joined the truck tractor at the port of povlit on the Thames at 0.30 a.m. on October 23.
MO & middot, a 25-year-old truck driver; Robinson left the port at 1:05 a.m. local time on the 23rd and went to an industrial park in Essex, southeast England.
When Robinson opened the container to get the documents, he found the body and immediately called the emergency number. At 1:40 a.m., the ambulance service informed the police.
The British Daily Mail reported that the temperature in the container was minus 25 degrees and the bodies had been frozen.
British police extend detention of truck drivers for another 24 hours
At present, the Essex County police have obtained an extended arrest order from the county's Basildon district court to arrest the 25-year-old Northern Irish man and truck driver MO & middot; Robinson extended his detention for another 24 hours. Police say they are launching the largest murder investigation in Essex history.
Earlier, Northern Ireland police raided three houses. The British National Crime Investigation Bureau said that efforts were being made to identify 'organized criminal groups that may be involved'.
Essex County police opened the procedure for transferring the victim's body. On the afternoon of the 24th local time, Essex County police opened the procedure for transferring the victim's body. As of 19:41 local time, the ambulance carrying the bodies of 11 victims was escorted by the police from Tilbury port to Bloomfield hospital, which is located in chermsford, Essex County. The Chinese Embassy in the UK went to the scene to verify and confirm Tong Xuejun, Minister counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, said: "the Chinese Embassy in the UK attaches great importance to this incident and is going all out to carry out relevant work. We will continue to urge the British police to find out the truth as soon as possible, and we will keep the media informed of the latest progress of the case. ". The Chinese ambassador to Belgium made an urgent appointment with the Deputy federal Attorney General of Belgium. The Chinese ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming made an urgent appointment with the Deputy federal Attorney General of Belgium and asked Belgium to cooperate closely to find out the truth of the case as soon as possible.
The Deputy Attorney General of Belgium said that it was confirmed that the truck container arrived in the UK from zebruch port, Belgium, and the government and judiciary attached great importance to the case. The federal prosecutor will fully carry out the investigation, keep in touch with the Chinese Embassy in Belgium and inform the progress of the case investigation in a timely manner.
Original title: Chinese Embassy in the UK: British police have not been able to determine that the 39 victims in the truck are Chinese nationals