Essex lorry deaths: People found dead were all Vietnamese Published duration 1 November 2019 Related Topics Essex lorry deaths

image caption Pham Thi Tra My and Nguyen Dinh Luong's families are concerned they may be among the victims

All 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in Essex were Vietnamese, police have said.

The victims were found in a container on an industrial estate last week and were initially thought to be Chinese.

But Essex Police said it was now in "direct contact with a number of families in Vietnam and the UK" and the Vietnamese government.

A number of Vietnamese families have previously come forward fearing their loved ones are among the dead.

Pham Thi Tra My, 26, sent her family a message on the night of 22 October - the day before the 39 people were found dead - saying her "trip to a foreign land has failed".

Post-mortem examinations are being carried out on the 31 men and eight women to establish the cause of death.

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said: "At this time, we believe the victims are Vietnamese nationals, and we are in contact with the Vietnamese Government."

He said police were not in a position to identify any of the victims.

image copyright PA Media image caption The bodies were discovered in the lorry trailer in the early hours of 23 October

The Vietnamese Embassy in London said it was "deeply saddened" and sent its "heartfelt condolences" to the families of the victims.

"Specific identities of the victims still need to be identified and confirmed by the relevant authorities of Vietnam and UK," it said.

It said it would "closely co-ordinate with the relevant authorities of Vietnam and UK to support the families of the Vietnamese victims, if any, to bring their loved ones home".

The father of 30-year-old Le Van Ha, who comes from an agricultural part of Vietnam, previously told the BBC he was convinced his son was among the dead.

VietHome, a popular Vietnamese community forum in the UK, said it had passed on the pictures of almost 20 people who have been reported missing to detectives.

Earlier, police in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province said they had charged two unnamed people with "organising or brokering illegal immigration".

image copyright Getty Images image caption Le Minh Tuan, pictured here, fears his son Le Van Ha was among the dead in Essex

The driver of the lorry, Maurice Robinson, from Northern Ireland, appeared in court on Monday charged with a string of offences, including 39 counts of manslaughter.