Trial begins of suspects in UK migrant truck tragedy
(VOVWORLD) - Four men went on trial in Britain Monday in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found in a truck in southeast England last year.
 Police blockade the site where the truck carrying 39 Vietnamese migrants is found in October, 2019. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The four men on trial at the Old Bailey court in central London face a range of charges, from manslaughter to conspiracy to commit unlawful immigration.
They do not include the 25-year-old driver of the vehicle, Maurice Robinson of Northern Ireland. At an April hearing, Robinson admitted charges of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit unlawful immigration. Meanwhile another driver, 40-year-old Ronan Hughes, also from Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to the same charges at a hearing in August.
The grim discovery of 31 men and eight women inside the container truck on Grays industrial estate, east of London, in October last year threw fresh light on the plight of migrants desperate to reach Britain. A post-mortem examination found the victims - 10 of them teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys - died from lack of oxygen and overheating in the refrigerated truck. The truck drove to Britain on a ferry from Belgium.