39 people found dead in Essex lorry container 'had no chance of survival in sub-zero temperatures'

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The 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry trailer had “no chance of survival” in sub-zero temperatures, according to a haulage expert.

Police are working to identify the bodies of those found in the trailer at an industrial park in Grays, Essex, early on Wednesday.

A man was last night being held on suspicion of murder after the horrifying discovery.

Temperatures inside the lorry’s refrigerated trailer could have been as low as -25C, an industry expert has claimed.

Forensic officers at the scene after 39 bodies were found in a lorry in Essex
Jeremy Selwyn

Richard Burnett, CEO of the Road Haulage Association, said they are built to be airtight.

He told the Sun: “If it’s chilled, the trailer temperature will be set to -5C, but if it’s frozen you’re talking about -25C.

“There’s little or no chance of survival if you’re in those conditions for any length of time.”

Detectives have said the trailer containing the victims arrived at Purfleet from Zeebrugge in Belgium at around 12.30am.

The front section to which the trailer was attached, known as the tractor, came from Northern Ireland, they said.

The lorry and trailer left the port shortly after 1.05am and officers were called around 30 minutes later after ambulance staff made the grim discovery at Waterglade Industrial Park.

The vehicle driver, named locally as 25-year-old Mo Robinson from Portadown in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, is being held by Essex police on suspicion of murder.

A man named as Mo Robinson has been arrested on suspicion of murder

Several pictures on his Facebook profile match those of the vehicle at the centre of the investigation in Grays.

There was no answer at the Co Armagh home of Mr Robinson's family.

Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said the lorry and the container were being moved to nearby Tilbury Docks so the bodies can be recovered while preserving the dignity of the victims.

"We are yet to identify them and must manage this sensitively with their families," she added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the perpetrators of the crime "should be hunted down", while local MP Jackie Doyle-Price said the people smugglers responsible must be caught.

Police have said tracking route used "will be a key line of inquiry".

The Bulgarian ministry of foreign affairs said the truck was registered in Varna in Bulgaria "under the name of a company owned by an Irish citizen".

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

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Police originally thought the lorry had travelled to the UK through Holyhead in north Wales on October 19 but later revealed that the trailer had come directly from the Continent.

A freight ferry service runs from Zeebrugge to Purfleet.

The discovery comes as the National Crime Agency said the number of migrants being smuggled into the UK in containers and lorries has risen in the last year.

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