Chinese migrants 'suffocated in freezing container'

Police and forensic officers investigate a lorry in which 39 bodies were discovered in a truck yesterday. [Image: Getty Images]

The 39 migrants who were found dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry were Chinese nationals, police have confirmed.

Essex Police were called to Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays at 1.40 am on Wednesday.

Officials confirmed eight women and 31 men were found in the container and police had secured a warrant allowing the driver to be held and questioned for a further 24 hours.

Experts claim the migrants may have suffocated to death from lack of oxygen or died due to the freezing conditions.

The horrific discovery sparked one of the biggest mass murder probes in UK history as police work to identify the victims and those behind their move to the UK.

A 25-year-old lorry driver from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder - he was later named as Mo Robinson from Portadown.

Officers guarding the scene solemnly bowed their heads as the lorry and trailer, still containing the 39 bodies, were moved to a secure location on Wednesday evening.

The driver of a lorry found with 39 dead migrants in the trailer 'passed out' after discovering the bodies, according to reports.

Police forensics officers at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays.[Image: PA]

Mo Robinson remains in custody today having been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The 25-year-old was so shocked by the discovery in the refrigerated container he collected from Purfleet he is reported to have fainted after calling the emergency services.

The bodies of 39 Chinese nationals were found in the container sparking one of the biggest mass murder probes in UK history.

Essex Police are leading the investigation into the deaths with help from the National Crime Agency and the PSNI in Northern Ireland, where Mr Robinson is from.

Eight of those who died were women and 31 were men.

Detectives today raided three properties in County Armagh.

Belgian prosecutors said they had “no idea” when the victims in the container, shipped to Purfleet, Essex, from Zeebrugge, had climbed on board or how they had made their way to it.

Their investigation has found the container arrived at Zeebrugge on Tuesday at 2.49pm local time and left the port the same day.

It was collected from Purfleet at roughly 1am on Wednesday with emergency services called to Grays, Essex at around 1.30am.

They continue to investigate the lorry's journey, focusing on who organised the transportation.

In a statement authority in Belgium said they would continue to work with police in the UK to find out what happened.

Eric Van Duyse, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said it is not clear how long the lorry spent in Belgium.

He said: "We have no idea at the moment how long the lorry spent in Belgium, it could be hours or days, we just don't know."

According to the Evening Standard, one witness claims that Mr Robinson, from Portadown in Co Armagh, had passed out after opening the refrigerator unit and discovering the bodies, although that suggestion remained unverified.

An NCA assessment report on serious and organised crime last year said there was a "greater focus" on rising smuggler numbers in Belgium after the closure of the Dunkirk migrant camp in 2017.

In 2000, 58 Chinese migrants were found suffocated to death in a lorry at Dover.