A few days ago, a truck with 39 bodies was found in the county of Essex near London. Now British police have arrested two more people in connection with the case. It was a man and a woman, both at the age of 38 years. They were arrested in Warrington, northern England, police said in Essex. They were accused of trafficking in 39 cases and manslaughter in 39 cases, the police said.
The 25-year-old Northern Irish driver of the truck, in whose container the dead had been found, remains in custody. He was under suspicion of murder. The detention order against him had been extended on Thursday. Meanwhile, online petitions were circulating on the Internet calling for his release.
The bodies were discovered in the truck's container at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays. On Thursday, the authorities announced that all the dead were from China. The identity of the persons is still unknown. (Read a report from the locality here).
Identification will take
On Thursday, the dead - 31 men and eight women - were taken to a morgue about 20 kilometers from Grays. The police said it would take some time to identify the bodies. Autopsies were taken to see how exactly they died.
photo gallery
7 pictures
Mortuary in Essex: Departure from the industrial area"It's the biggest investigation Essex has ever done and it will be some time before we can finish it," said senior police officer Ben-Julian Harrington. The Chinese Embassy in London said it sent a team to Essex to meet with the local police.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, "I think that no matter where the victims come from, it's a huge tragedy." The case draws the attention of the international community to the issue of illegal immigration. "We hope that the UK can confirm and determine the identity of the victims as soon as possible, understand the facts and punish the criminals in this case," said Hua.
For years, people have been trying to get into the UK illegally, often hiding in trucks from the EU to the countryside. In 2000, 58 Chinese people were found dead in a tomato van in the port of Dover.
Which route the truck took in the current case, the focus of the investigation should now lie. The vehicle is according to investigators presumably from Bulgaria. According to initial findings, the route initially led to Ireland - how exactly, is determined. After that, the truck had come on Saturday over the port of Holyhead in Wales to the UK. This is one of the main British ports for ferries from Ireland. The truck arrived at the port of Purfleet near Grays. About an hour after arrival, the bodies were discovered in the refrigerated container.
In addition, the officials continue to search for those responsible for the alleged trafficking in human beings.
