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View of a truck, seen in rear, that was found to contain a large number of dead bodies in Essex, early Wednesday Oct. 23, 2019. Photo:Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- 39 people were found dead on Wednesday in a lorry container, believed to have come from Bulgaria, at an industrial park in Essex, 20 miles east of London.
"This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened,” said Essex Police chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner.
The container was discovered in Waterglade Industrial Park in the town of Grays at 1:40 am on Wednesday when police and ambulances were called to the scene.
39 people, including a teenager, were all found dead and the driver, a 25 year-old man from Northern Ireland, was arrested on suspicion of murder. The nationalities of the victims remain unknown.
“We are in the process of identifying the victims, however I anticipate that this could be a lengthy process,” added Mariner.
The police chief further elaborated that they believe the lorry may have come from Bulgaria, and entered the UK at Holyhead port in Wales on October 19.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "appalled' by the tragic incident in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, before opening Prime Minister's Questions by describing the event as "an unimaginable tragedy."
"The Home Office will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened," his tweet added.
On August 27, 2015, 71 people were found dead inside a lorry in eastern Austria. The majority of those who died hailed from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, with 21 from the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI).
With the arrival of the Islamic State (ISIS) on the scene in 2014 and the ensuing destruction and economic crisis faced in the region, many Kurds undertook extremely dangerous journeys to make it to Europe.
Scores have died en route, especially crossing the Aegean sea to Greece, which has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people in 2018, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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