On October 25, foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying chaired a regular press conference. A reporter asked that on October 23 local time, British police found a truck with 39 bodies in an industrial park in Essex. The victims may be Chinese. Can China confirm their identity and why they went to Britain? " Many people are very concerned about this report. Our hearts are very heavy. This is a sad tragedy. " Hua Chunying introduced the relevant situation.
On the morning of the 23rd local time, the Chinese Embassy in the UK took note of the relevant reports of the British media on the deaths of 39 people in Essex County and immediately verified the identity of the victims to the British side. The British police said that they would inform the British side as soon as possible. At 10:40 a.m. local time on the 24th, that is, at 5:50 p.m. Beijing time on the 24th, the Chinese Embassy in the UK received a telephone call from the British police saying that the victims were suspected to be Chinese citizens. The Chinese Embassy in the UK immediately sent staff to the local scene to understand the situation, asked the British side to confirm the identity of all the victims as soon as possible and inform the Chinese side of the case. At the same time, the Chinese Embassy in Belgium also asked the Belgian police and relevant departments to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
At present, the minister counsellor in charge of consular affairs of the Chinese Embassy in the UK has arrived at the location of the incident and contacted the local police. The British police said that they are still verifying the identity of the victims and are unable to confirm whether they are Chinese nationals. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the reported case. At present, relevant Chinese departments are working closely to carry out various work. We hope that the UK will confirm, confirm and verify the identity of the victims as soon as possible, find out the truth and severely punish the criminals involved according to law. The British police are still under intense verification and cannot confirm it at present.
Hua Chunying said that no matter which country's citizens the victims are, this is a great tragedy and has also attracted the attention of the international community to the issue of illegal immigration. The international community should further strengthen cooperation in this regard, strengthen the communication of information and intelligence, and intervene at the source as soon as possible to prevent such tragedies from happening again in the future.