Ten teenagers were among the 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in Essex last month, the youngest of them being two 15-year-old boys, police have revealed.

Detectives have completed identification of the bodies found in the container, which was shipped from Belgium to Essex on 23 October, and confirmed that all the victims, 31 males and eight females, were Vietnamese. As well as the two children aged 15, Dinh Dinh Binh and Nguyen Huy Hung, there was one 17-year-old, four 18-year-olds and three 19-year-olds.

A team of Vietnamese officials traveled to Britain to help with the formal identification. Assistant chief constable Tim Smith, who is leading the inquiry, said: “This was an incredibly important process and our team has been working hard to bring answers to worried families who fear their loved one may be among those whose tragic journey ended on our shores.

“Our priority has been to identify the victims, to preserve the dignity of those who have died and to support the victims’ friends and families. It remained of paramount importance to us to ensure that an individual’s next of kin were informed, and that they were given some time to absorb this tragic news before we publicly confirmed their loved one’s identity.”

Caroline Beasley-Murray, senior coroner in Essex, offered her condolences to the victims’ families. “My thoughts are with them at this unimaginably difficult time.”

Police confirmed that Pham Thi Tra My, the 26-year-old who sent text messages to her family to tell them she was dying, was among the dead. “I’m sorry Mum. My journey abroad hasn’t succeeded. Mum, I love you so much! I’m dying because I can’t breathe,” Pham wrote from the lorry.

The oldest victim was 44. Most came from three known people-smuggling areas in Vietnam: Ha Tinh, Nghe An and Quang Binh. Ha Tinh province was the site of a chemical spill from a steel factory in 2016 that poisoned up to 125 miles of the northern coastline and devastated the fishing industry. Many people have left the area in search of work abroad.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Family members and neighbours of Pham Thi Tra My attend a praying ceremony with Buddhist monks in front of a makeshift shrine. Photograph: Linh Pham/Getty Images

The driver of the lorry, Maurice Robinson, 25, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering. Eight suspects were arrested in Vietnam this week in relation to people smuggling offences.

Katherine Mulhern, the head of the anti-trafficking charity, Ecpat UK, said: “This tragedy has shocked the UK and its impact has been felt by people across the country who arrived in the UK in the back of lorries. Many of the young people we come into contact with are dealing with significant trauma triggered by this tragedy.”

She said it must serve as “a wake-up call to governments of the devastating human cost of the policies driving these dangerous journeys”.

Mimi Vu, a leading expert on trafficking of young Vietnamese people to Europe and the UK, said: “It is revealing the sheer number of young people, the 10 teenagers, who died. Children and teenagers have an exacerbated vulnerability, they are under the thumb of the trafficking network that is controlling them.”

The full list of victims’ names, released by Essex police:

Pham Thi Tra My, 26, from Ha Tinh

Nguyen Dinh Luong, 20, from Ha Tinh

Nguyen Huy Phong, 35, from Ha Tinh

Vo Nhan Du, 19, from Ha Tinh

Tran Manh Hung, 37, from Ha Tinh

Tran Khanh Tho, 18, from Ha Tinh

Vo Van Linh, 25, from Ha Tinh

Nguyen Van Nhan, 33, from Ha Tinh

Bui Phan Thang, 37, from Ha Tinh

Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, from Ha Tinh

Tran Thi Tho, 21, from Nghe An

Bui Thi Nhung, 19, from Nghe An

Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, from Nghe An

Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26, from Nghe An

Le Van Ha, 30, from Nghe An

Tran Thi Ngoc, 19, from Nghe An

Nguyen Van Hung, 33, from Nghe An

Hoang Van Tiep, 18, from Nghe An

Cao Tien Dung, 37, from Nghe An

Cao Huy Thanh, 33, from Nghe An

Tran Thi Mai Nhung, 18, from Nghe An

Nguyen Minh Quang, 20, from Nghe An

Le Trong Thanh, 44, from Dien Chau

Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, 28, from Nghe An

Hoang Van Hoi, 24, from Nghe An

Nguyen Tho Tuan, 25, from Nghe An

Dang Huu Tuyen, 22, from Nghe An

Nguyen Trong Thai, 26, from Nghe An

Nguyen Van Hiep, 24, from Nghe An

Nguyen Thi Van, 35, from Nghe An

Tran Hai Loc, 35, from Nghe An

Duong Minh Tuan, 27, from Quang Binh

Nguyen Ngoc Ha, 32, from Quang Binh

Nguyen Tien Dung, 33, from Quang, Binh

Phan Thi Thanh, 41, from Hai Phong

Nguyen Ba Vu Hung, 34, from Thua Tien Hue

Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen, 18, from Hai Phong

Tran Ngoc Hieu, 17, from Hai Duong

Dinh Dinh Binh, 15, from Hai Phong