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(CNN) - Police say 39 people were found dead in a truck at an industrial estate in Grays, in the southeast of England.
“We were called by colleagues from the ambulance service shortly before 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23 after the discovery of a truck container with people inside at Waterglade Industrial Park, Eastern Avenue, Grays. Emergency services arrived, but unfortunately, the 39 people were pronounced dead at the scene. The first indications suggest that 38 are adults and one of them is a teenager, ”says the Essex police statement.
A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested on suspicion of murder, according to the statement.
Andrew Mariner, chief superintendent of Essex police, said: “This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our investigations continue to determine what happened. We are in the process of identifying the victims, however, I anticipate that this could be a long process.
“We believe that the truck is from Bulgaria and entered the country through Holyhead on Saturday, October 19 and we are working closely with our partners to investigate. We have arrested the truck driver in connection with the incident that remains in police custody while our investigations continue. It is possible that this cord will interrupt the activity of local companies in the area and we will work to ensure that the interruption is kept as short as possible. We are working with the Thurrock Council to mitigate any impact that our research scene has locally. ”