Essex lorry deaths: Fears Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My, 26, was among 39 people found dead

Pham Thi Tra My
James Morris25 October 2019
WEST END FINAL

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A 26-year-old woman from Vietnam is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a lorry in Essex.

The brother of Pham Thi Tra My told the BBC she had paid £30,000 to be smuggled into Britain.

Pham Ngoc Tuan said the family has not been able to contact her since she sent a text on Tuesday night saying she was suffocating.

A translated WhatsApp message, which has been shared on social media, read: "I am really, really sorry, mum and dad, my trip to a foreign land has failed.

"I am dying, I can't breathe. I love you very much mum and dad. I am sorry, mother."

The Vietnamese Embassy in London said it has contacted police regarding a missing woman.

39 Bodies found in a container at Waterglade Industrial Park, Grays

1/35

Essex Police and the Home Office refused to comment on whether it was investigating Ms My's whereabouts as part of the lorry probe.

Eight women and 31 men were found dead in the lorry on Wednesday. Police initially said they were all believed to be Chinese nationals.

The driver of the truck, named locally as 25-year-old Mo Robinson, from Northern Ireland, remains in custody after he was held on suspicion of murder.

On Friday, a man and a woman, both aged 38 and from Warrington, Cheshire, were also arrested on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter and people trafficking.

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