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Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants in lorry deaths

21 December 2020 22:30 (UTC +04:00)

Two men have been found guilty of the manslaughter of all 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex, APA reports citing BBC.

The migrants suffocated in the sealed container en route from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in October 2019.

Eamonn Harrison, 24, who dropped off the trailer at the Belgian port, and people-smuggler Gheorghe Nica, 43, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury.

Two others were convicted of being part of a wider people-smuggling conspiracy.

Det Ch Insp Daniel Stoten, from Essex Police, said: "If you look at the method, the way they transported human beings... we wouldn't transport animals in that way."

Another two men - Irish haulier boss Ronan Hughes, 41, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson - had previously admitted manslaughter.

Prosecutors said in the run that ended in the deaths of the 39 people, the container became a "tomb" as temperatures in the unit reached an "unbearable" 38.5C (101F).

The migrants, aged 15 to 44, were sealed inside for at least 12 hours.