One of Vietnamese victims of Essex truck tragedy ‘was minor who’d escaped Dutch asylum centre’

One of the 39 Vietnamese victims found dead in Essex refrigerated truck ‘was a minor who had previously escaped from a Dutch asylum centre’

  • Boy said to be among bodies found near south-east port of Purfleet on Oct 23 
  • Ten teens, including two boys aged 15, were among those found in the trailer
  • Driver Mo Robinson has already been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter 

One of the 39 Vietnamese victims found dead in a refrigerated truck in Britain last month was a minor who disappeared from a Dutch asylum shelter previously.

The boy, whose name and age was not released, was among the bodies found near the south-east English port of Purfleet on October 23, the Algemeen Dagblad daily reported.

‘The teenaged boy absconded from an extra-secure facility for vulnerable asylum seekers,’ the paper said, quoting a source at the COA, the Dutch government organisation handling refugees. 

One of the 39 Vietnamese victims found dead in a refrigerated truck (pictured) in Essex last month was said to be a minor who disappeared from a Dutch asylum shelter previously

Holland's Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) told local media the youngster had run away from a shelter for vulnerable migrants. (Pictured, police escort the truck as they move it from an industrial estate in Thurrock)

Holland’s Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) told local media the youngster had run away from a shelter for vulnerable migrants. (Pictured, police escort the truck as they move it from an industrial estate in Thurrock)

The victims included (top row, left to right) Pham Tra My, 26, Anna Bui Thi Nhung, 19, Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, and (middle row, left to right) Nguyen Dinh Lurong, 20, Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, Hoang Van Tiep, 18, and (bottom row, left to right) Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26, Nguyen van Hung, 33, and Le Van Ha, 30

The victims included (top row, left to right) Pham Tra My, 26, Anna Bui Thi Nhung, 19, Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, and (middle row, left to right) Nguyen Dinh Lurong, 20, Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, Hoang Van Tiep, 18, and (bottom row, left to right) Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26, Nguyen van Hung, 33, and Le Van Ha, 30

Ten teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, were among the 39 Vietnamese nationals found in the trailer in an industrial park in Grays in the early hours of October 23, shortly after the lorry arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

The driver, Mo Robinson, 25, from Northern Ireland, has appeared in court charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering, and is expected to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Extradition proceedings have also been launched in Ireland to bring Eamonn Harrison, 22, from Mayobridge in Newry, Co Down, to the UK.

He appeared at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court on Thursday after he was arrested on a European arrest warrant in respect of 39 counts of manslaughter, one count of human trafficking and one count of assisting unlawful immigration.

A 23-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration in the early hours of Friday morning on the M40.

Detectives have also urged Ronan Hughes, 40, and his brother Christopher, 34, from Armagh, Northern Ireland, to hand themselves in. They are wanted on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.

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