Authorities in the United Kingdom say that the 39 people who were found dead in the back of a truck were Chinese nationals. Eight of the victims were women, while the other 31 were men.
Morris Robinson, a 25-year-old truck driver from Northern Ireland, was taken into custody in connection with the case but has not been charged with a crime. Authorities usually have 48 hours to question murder suspects, but they have been granted an extension while they continue to investigate the deaths.
"This is an incredibly sensitive and high-profile investigation, and we are working swiftly to gather as full a picture as possible as to how these people lost their lives," said Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills. "Our recovery of the bodies is ongoing, and the post-mortem and identification processes, which will be lengthy and complex, can then begin."
Investigators believe the truck and the trailer entered the United Kingdom at separate times. The truck was registered in Bulgaria to a company owned by an Irish citizen and entered the country on Sunday, while the trailer arrived on a boat at the port of Purfleet early Wednesday (October 23) morning.
Authorities say that Robinson picked up the trailer and drove it to the industrial park where the bodies were discovered.
The coroner's office is conducting an autopsy on the victims to determine their cause of death. Once that has been established, they will work to identify the bodies and notify their families.
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