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Agence France-Presse

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.
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.
Hanoi orders probe as most of truck death victims likely from Vietnam
British police want help from the Vietnamese community in Britain and abroad to identify the 39 people, a senior officer said on Saturday.
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Pasmore said his officers had found “very, very few ID papers” among the bodies and hoped to identify the dead through fingerprints, dental records and DNA, as well as photos from friends and relatives.

Police initially said they thought the victims might be Chinese, but have since said they do not want to speculate on the victims’ nationality before they have been formally identified.
“We do not know exactly the nationality of our individuals. But at the moment I am going to focus and engage as much as I possibly can within the Vietnamese community,” Pasmore said.
Chinese and Vietnamese officials are now both working closely with British police, the two countries’ embassies have said. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered government officials to help establish the identities of the victims and look into cases of Vietnamese citizens sent abroad illegally.
People from a rural region in central Vietnam have said they fear friends and relatives seeking to move to Britain make up a large number of the dead, who were found in an industrial estate in Grays, Essex.
Three other people have been arrested in Britain in connection with the investigation, on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and manslaughter. They remain in custody.
Vietnamese woman travelling via China feared dead in truck tragedy
They include a 38-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman from Warrington in northwest England, reportedly a couple. She is said to be the legal owner of the truck.
A 48-year-old man from Northern Ireland is also being held.
On Saturday, Irish police announced another arrest at Dublin port, of a man in his early 20s from Northern Ireland.
Pasmore, who is in charge of identifying the bodies but not running the criminal investigation, said his colleagues were keeping an open mind about whether the dead were victims of a wider human trafficking conspiracy.
“Criminals and murderers are taking more and more chances with these vulnerable people,” he said.
Pasmore said he had spoken with Vietnam’s ambassador to Britain to seek help with fingerprint records.

Pasmore said he had also contacted the operator of a Vietnamese community website and hoped Vietnamese people in Britain would “take a leap of faith” and help police identify friends and relatives, even if they were in the country illegally.
The Vietnamese Embassy in London has started a hotline to help families seeking information on their loved ones.
The number for the Vietnamese hotline is +44 7713 181501.
Those seeking help in relation to the case can also contact Vietnam’s general citizen protection hotline at +84981 8484 84.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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UK truck deaths

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

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

Police is seen at the scene where bodies were discovered in a lorry container, in Grays, Essex, Britain October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Detective Inspector Martin Pasmore of Essex police speaks to the news media at Grays police station regarding the deaths of thirty-nine immigrants who were found inside a lorry, Essex, Britain October 26, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

Hanoi orders probe as majority of Essex truck death victims likely from Vietnam

Hoang Thi Thuong, wife of Nguyen Dinh Tu who is a suspected truck death victim, with her son at their home in Vietnam. Photo: Reuters

epa07946455 People hold a candlelight vigil for the victims that died in a lorry container, in London, Britain, 24 October 2019. A total of 39 bodies were discovered inside a lorry container in Grays, Essex in the early hours of 23 October, and pronounced dead at the scene. EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN

Pham Thi Tra My. Photo: Twitter

Essex truck deaths: woman Pham Thi Tra My and other Vietnamese feared to be among victims after trying to enter UK via China

Flowers are seen at the scene where bodies were discovered in a lorry container, in Grays, Essex, Britain October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

A general view of the house of 26-year-old Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My, who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, is seen in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province on October 26, 2019. - A 26-year-old Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My is believed to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain after her family received a heart-wrenching text message from her on October 23 before the immigrants were discovered. At least two Vietnamese families have now said they fear their relatives are among the victims. (Photo by STR / AFP)

Pham Van Thin, father of 26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, sits inside his house in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province on October 26, 2019. - A 26-year-old Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My is believed to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain after her family received a heart-wrenching text message from her on October 23 before the immigrants were discovered. At least two Vietnamese families have now said they fear their relatives are among the victims. (Photo by STR / AFP)

epa07946350 People hold a candlelight vigil for the victims that died in a lorry container, in London, Britain, 24 October 2019. A total of 39 bodies were discovered inside a lorry container in Grays, Essex in the early hours of 23 October, and pronounced dead at the scene. EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN

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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



Maurice Robinson from Northern Ireland faces 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people and money laundering.


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

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