Police in Essex, the UK have now identified some of 39 migrants found dead in a refrigerated truck container on October 23, with all victims believed to be Vietnamese.

Identities remain unknow so far. Photo: PA

“At this time, we believe the victims are Vietnamese nationals, and we are in contact with the Vietnamese Government,” Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said in a statement on Friday [November 1].

“We are in direct contact with a number of families in Vietnam and the UK, and we believe we have identified families for some of the victims whose journey ended in tragedy on our shores.”

The police said that the identities could not be announced until confirmatory evidence is gathered from a number of different countries and formally presented to the HM Senior Coroner for consideration.

In a statement released on early Saturday morning, Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and British police are cooperating for the indentification which will be soon announced.

The MOFA has worked with authorized agencies in the UK to identify the victims, launched a hotline and carried out citizen protection measures, Hang said.

The government of Vietnam wants to express its gratitude and highly appreciates British authorities’ efforts in the identification process and cooperation with the Vietnamese side, Hang said, adding that Vietnam expects the British police would strictly punish those involving in this tragedy.

Hang said Vietnam strongly protests human trafficking and calls for further cooperation to push down human smuggling worldwide.