A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder after police found the bodies of 39 people in the container of a truck outside London. Police say the truck was driven to the United Kingdom from Bulgaria and entered the country through the Welsh port of Holyhead.
One of the victims was a teenager, and the rest were adults.
"This is an absolute tragedy and a very sad day for Essex Police in the local community," Essex Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said. "We will continue to work alongside many other partner agencies to find out what led to these deaths. I'd like to appeal for anyone who has any information to contact my offices."
Officials are working to identify the victims and determine their cause of death. Officials believe the victims may have been migrants trying to get smuggled into the U.K.
"This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our inquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened," Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner said. "We are in the process of identifying the victims, however, I anticipate that this could be a lengthy process."