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Driver charged over Essex truck deaths as UK police ask Vietnamese to help identify victims

  • Maurice Robinson from Northern Ireland faces 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people and money laundering
  • Irish police on Saturday arrested a fifth person in connection with the investigation

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A relative lights an incense stick in front of a portrait of Bui Thi Nhung, who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, inside her house in Vietnam. Photo: AFP
British police investigating the deaths of 39 people in a refrigerated truck said on Saturday they had charged a driver arrested at the scene with manslaughter and people trafficking.
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Maurice Robinson, 25, from Northern Ireland, faces “39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering”, police said.

Robinson was arrested soon after the bodies were discovered in the truck at Purfleet on the River Thames estuary, after arriving on a ferry from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge early on Wednesday.

He will appear in court on Monday, Essex police said.

British police want help from the Vietnamese community in Britain and abroad to identify the 39 people, a senior officer said on Saturday.
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