After the UK police’s announcement on late November 1 that the victims in the Essex lorry case are thought to be Vietnamese, spokesperson of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said on early November 2 that this is a great humanitarian tragedy.
One person has been prosecuted and detained while another was arrested urgently in the central province of Ha Tinh for suspected involvement in organizing, brokering illegal emigration in the province, provincial police said on November 1.
British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward has expressed his condolences after Essex police announced that they believe the victims who were found dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry in Essex, the UK, are Vietnamese.
Right after the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK and the Foreign Ministry reported that the police of Essex announced there were Vietnamese people, unidentified yet, in the incident that saw 39 people died in a lorry in a region northeast of London, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc from Bangkok sent his deep condolences to the bereaved families.
Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has required relevant ministries and agencies to continue coordinating closely with the UK to identify victims in the Essex lorry case, in order to release official information on the case.
Two separate groups of public security and foreign affairs officials departed for the United Kingdom at the weekend, following news that all victims in the Essex lorry tragedy were believed to be Vietnamese.
National Assembly (NA) General Secretary Nguyen Hanh Phuc on November 5 delivered an initial report to deputies on Vietnam’s response to issues related to Vietnamese victims in the recent lorry tragedy in Essex, the UK.
Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung on November 4 held working sessions with representatives from the UK Home Office, signed funeral book and laid a wreath for the 39 victims found dead in Essex, northeast of London.
The Vietnamese Government is working closely with the UK authorities to identify the victims of the shocking October 23 lorry incident in Essex, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said on November 5.
Vietnam will continue close coordination with the UK to accelerate the identification of victims in the lorry tragedy in Essex last week, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung said during his working sessions with UK authorities.
