The last of the remains of 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain last month arrived in Vietnam yesterday, the foreign ministry said, returning them to bereft families after weeks of waiting.
The victims were among the 31 men and eight women discovered in a refrigerated truck in Essex on Oct. 23 — all Vietnamese nationals who were illegal migrant workers.
Sixteen bodies and the ashes of seven victims were flown from London, state-run Vietnam News Agency reported.
Families were given two options for repatriation: US$1,800 to bring back ashes, or US$2,900 for the cost of a coffin carrying the body.
Many chose to receive the bodies because they wanted to carry out traditional burial rites and had to take out loans from the government to facilitate the return.
The father of Le Van Ha — who left behind a wife and two children for Europe in the hopes of a higher income to support them — said yesterday that everything was prepared for his son’s return.
Several of the victims’ relatives said they borrowed tens of thousands of dollars to pay for their relatives’ trips to Europe.
The central provinces have well-entrenched networks of brokers who facilitate the risky trips with the promise of well-paid jobs, though migrants typically end up working in nail bars or cannabis farms.
The brokers promised the 39 victims the truck route was safe and billed it as the “VIP route,” their families said.
The Northern Irish driver of the truck, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to assist illegal immigration.
Several other people have been arrested in the UK over the incident, while Vietnam has held at least 10 people — though none have been formally charged.
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