Bodies of 16 Essex truck victims arrive in Hanoi (Photo: Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

An aircraft transported the bodies from the UK to Noi Bai International Airport and the repatriation has been carried out by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with relevant agencies and localities. Representatives of the provincial authorities of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh province received and delivered the 16 bodies to the families. Vietnamese authorities are still working closely with their British counterparts to repatriate the remaining victims.

Later on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc once again extended his deep condolence to families of the victims. He urged the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies to continue their close coordination with the British authorities to promptly investigate and strictly deal with perpetrators.

Since the incident occurred more than one month ago, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK have worked closely with Vietnamese and British agencies to assist victims’ families in bringing their relatives home in humanitarian spirit and in line with international law and laws and customs of the two countries.