39 found dead in refrigerated truck container were Chinese, says UK police

All 39 people found dead in a refrigerated truck container at an industrial estate near London are believed to be Chinese nationals, British police said on Thursday as they continued to question the truck driver on suspicion of murdering the eight women and 31 men.

The bodies were discovered after Essex Police were called to Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays area of Essex, a town 32 km east of London, early on Wednesday. The victims are likely to have frozen to death.

Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said temperatures in refrigerated trailers could be as low as -25C.

He described conditions for anyone inside as "absolutely horrendous".

A 25-year-old truck driver from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, who was arrested at the site of the discovery on Wednesday, remains in custody as police conducted searches of three properties in his hometown.

"We have since confirmed that eight of the deceased are women and 31 are men and all are believed to be Chinese nationals. We arrested a man on suspicion of murder, who remains in custody, an Essex Police statement said.

"Each of the 39 people must undergo a full coroner's process to establish a cause of death, before we move on to attempting to identify each individual within the trailer. This will be a substantial operation and, at this stage, we cannot estimate how long these procedures will take, it notes.

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said it was working to identify organised crime groups who may have played a part in the case, which is feared to involve an international people smuggling ring.

China's embassy in London said: "We read with heavy heart the reports about the death of 39 people in Essex, England.

"We are in close contact with the British police to seek clarification and confirmation of the relevant reports."